Robbie Neilson has warned his Hearts squad there will be no pre-Hampden holiday camp as they look to keep the foot down ahead of the Scottish Cup Final.
The Jambos have already sealed third spot in the Premiership with room to spare but the Gorgie boss has been working his men hard in training this week.
Neilson wants to maintain the momentum all the way to the showpiece showdown with Rangers in three weeks and he’s determined there will be no slacking off against Ross County at Tynecastle on Saturday.
Neilson said: “You can’t have that mentality here. I’ve seen other teams, they go away for a week’s holiday before a Cup Final then they get turned over.
“For us, we believe we should do things consistently through the season to make sure we perform.
We have the Final in three weeks but we still need to work hard and make sure it’s not holiday season until we get there.
“The next two weeks will be quite tough then we’ll play Saturday, Wednesday, Saturday through to the Final.
“We have tough periods in training through the season and players go up and down. The sports scientists take care of us and this is a period when we are up.
“We can’t feel we have done it. We have to be ready for the Final but we also need to win these games.
“We want to drive the squad forward, get work in to the players coming back from injury and make sure we are as prepared as possible for Hampden.”
Neilson – who is up for the Manager of the Year Award – insisted the demands will be the same against the Staggies despite the pressure being off.
He said: “I keep saying it but when you play at Hearts you need to win. We have Ross County this weekend and at home we are expected to win.
“We’ll have 20,000 fans who have been working hard all week. They expect us to win.
“We’ll need to turn up as we are playing against a very good team who, out with ourselves and the Old Firm, are probably one of the best teams in the league.
“They are desperate for European football and we have to be ready for them.”
Neilson has been impressed with Malky Mackay’s men this season and admitted he hasn’t been surprised by the Highlanders clicking into gear after their shaky start to the campaign.
He said: “Even when they had that spell at the start of the season when they weren’t winning games, I always felt they’d get back in it when you looked at their team and they way they played.
“They are creating chances and when you do that you’ll eventually start winning games.
“They’s got a strong back four, a midfield three who work very hard, a big target man up front with two wide players.
“It’s the making for a very good team.”
Neilson admitted it was nice to be in the running for the gaffer’s gong – but Dick Campbell has his vote after an incredible campaign at Arbroath.
The Jambos boss said: “Dick has had an outstanding season. I know the league well and it is a tough league to play in.
“To almost get the title which would have been unbelievable. But to even get to the playoffs for them is outstanding.
“I don’t get the old school stuff people speak about. What is football? Football at first team level is about winning games.
“If you have a belief about how you want to play and it wins games then it’s all good.
“There are a lot of contenders but we will have to see what happens in.the end. I would be delighted if Dick got it.
“It is nice to see your name in there but does it really mean anything? Ultimately it is about the players.
“Players win you football matches and it is my job to try to help them.
“Getting nominated is just the offshoot fo that but it is nice. It has been a good season but it is four games away from it being a great season and if we can do that then it doesn’t matter what else happened.”
