Derek McInnes has already psyched himself for a last-day title shootout at Celtic Park — even though his Hearts side could be crowned Premiership champions tomorrow night.
The Gorgie side — a point clear of Celtic at the summit — need four points from their last two games to secure one of the most stunning triumphs in Scottish football history.
Victory over Falkirk at Tynecastle would be enough to spark a Hearts title party if fourth-placed Motherwell defeat Martin O’Neill’s Celtic at Fir Park.
‘I’ve just assumed Celtic are going to win the game, I’ve had it in my head that we’re going to the last game and I’m prepared for that,’ said McInnes.
‘Listen, there’s no easy games for anybody, nothing’s straightforward. Motherwell are a more than capable team, as we saw the other night. They were fully committed against us and I’m sure that’ll be the same again against Celtic.’
Asked about the possibility of winning the title at home tomorrow, McInnes said: ‘The team meeting with the players will just be about our focus on this game and no distractions other than that.
Derek McInnes admits he is not expecting an early title party at Tynecastle tomorrow night
‘Any of that kind of talk, I understand it, and it’s actually nice to even hear that Hearts could win the league at Tynecastle because I don’t know how many people have been able to say that in their lifetime.
‘But the likelihood is, if we’re going to win the league, we’re going to have to win two games or certainly pick up four points from the next two games.’
Hearts know the title race would go to the last day even if they lose to Falkirk, but victory would ensure they maintain the initiative.
‘This isn’t a semi-final ahead of a final,’ the manager said. ‘It’s a final for us tomorrow and it’s important that we have the concentration on Falkirk.
‘I have believed for a while that we’ve got a team capable of winning the league, just that unshakeable belief in what we’re doing.
‘We have been trying to hold off a couple of heavyweights for a long time now. We’ve managed to see off Rangers and we’ve got to try and see off Celtic over the next two games.
Hearts forward Claudio Braga has been named Player of the Year and will be key at Tynecastle
‘I think the facts show we’re coping brilliantly. We’ve already broken a club record in terms of points tally and we’ve got a Champions League qualifier already secured, but obviously we want to try and go one better now and win the league.’
McInnes revealed that he spoke to the SFA’s head of referees Willie Collum on Monday after referee Steven McLean controversially decided not to award Hearts a penalty in the second half of their 1-1 draw at Motherwell despite being called to the monitor by VAR Greg Aitken after Alexandros Kyziridis was clipped in the box by Tawanda Maswanhise.
‘VAR did its job brilliantly, but unfortunately the referee didn’t,’ said McInnes, who also who revealed that Marc Leonard and Craig Halkett have undergone surgery after their seasons were prematurely ended with Achilles injuries at the weekend. ‘But we’ve moved on from that. I spoke to Willie yesterday, I got that off my chest. He was in agreement and I was satisfied from that point of view.’
The loss of Leonard and Halkett — who are both expected to be out for seven to nine months — is offset slightly for Hearts by the likelihood that Cammy Devlin, who had a late cameo at Motherwell, and Harry Milne are fit after their recent lay-offs.
‘Both are available tomorrow,’ said McInnes. ‘We’re at a stage of the season where they might not be as perfect as they want to be considering they’ve been out. But both lads have been running and doing a lot of work and both are available to start.’
