Robbie Neilson knows a win over Hibs in the Scottish Cup semi final would all but guarantee Hearts a place in the Europa Conference League group stage next season.
Even losing to Rangers or Celtic in the final would be enough, so long as the Jambos finish third in the Premiership - and with a 13 point lead, it would take a monumental collapse for that position to be snatched from them.
But Tynecastle boss Neilson is adamant the European prize - and the estimated £3m it would be worth this club - pales into insignificance compared to the far more primal ambition of knocking their closest and most bitter rival out of the Scottish Cup.
Hearts face Livingston and Ross County in their next two league matches before a double-header against Hibs that will set the tone for the remainder of the campaign.
Win the league match on April 9 and third place will be all but sealed. Triumph at Hampden the following week and there’s a Scottish Cup final to look forward to at the end of what will have been a phenomenally successful first season back in the top flight.
Neilson knows all this.
He also knows that all the supporters of his team really want is to lord it over Hibs in that semi final.
He said: “The Europa Conference League would be huge but it would also be huge to knock Hibs out the cup and get to the final.
“And if you asked our support what they would rather do, get to the conference league or put Hibs out the cup, I’m pretty sure what 99.9% of the Hearts fans would pick.”
And when it was pointed out to him that one (the Europa) would be a by-product of the other, he shrugged: “The most important thing is winning that game. Whatever comes as a result of that, so be it.
“They are all desperate to be involved. It is going to be a brilliant week but we have to make sure we go into it in form and make sure we don’t get distracted by that. We have to focus on Livingston on Saturday.
“Getting through in the cup was brilliant for us. It keeps the motivation going as well for the players. Because when you’ve got a 13 point lead in the league then sometimes players can take their eye off it a wee bit.
“But with these games coming up they have to be at it and I’m delighted about that.”
He was also thrilled to learn this week that Aussie right back Nathaniel Atkinson has earned his first full international call-up for vital World Cup qualifiers against Japan and Saudi Arabia.
With team-mate Cammy Devlin also knocking on the door, Neilson is convinced Hearts becoming renowned abroad as a pathway to international football will help him recruit even better players in the future.
He added: “We’re really pleased. We spoke to Nat when we were trying to sign him about coming here, playing for Hearts, raising his profile and trying to get into the national team. He has managed to do that. I still think there’s a lot of development within him as a player.
“And I think Cammy was in the provisional squad, which has about 60-odd players. I don’t think he will be far away. He just needs to get himself fit and get into the next one.
“Hearts should be a team with international players as the majority of the starting line-up, whether that’s for Scotland or different nations. It’s great from that point of view, but also for attracting players.
“We can show them the pathway that we’ve managed to create for a couple of boys.
“It’s two big games, Saudi Arabia and Japan, both first and second in their group. It’s two games they’ve got to win, really. It’s great he is getting an opportunity to be part of it. He will leave after the game on Saturday and he’ll return on the Wednesday before we play Ross County.
“From our perspective, we aren’t losing him for any key games which is good.
“Nat’s a confident boy anyway so I’m sure going away will help him, playing with good players and against good players. It will improve him and it’s a great one for him. We are delighted he is going away and hopefully he comes back fully fit ready to kick on again.”
While Australia has come calling for one of his players, Neilson believes the Scots Craig Halkett and Stephen Kingsley are catching Steve Clarke ’s eye, even if they missed out on selection for next week’s international matches.
He said: “Both of them have done very well. Ultimately it’s up to Steve to decide. He has decided to pick some other players so they need to continue doing what he’s doing.
“If they do that, then he will be asking more questions for the next squad.
“We have some big games coming up - a chance to get into Europe and win a cup - if they can do that it will raise their stock even more and give Steve more questions.”
