Derek McInnes told his Hearts players to put their foot to the floor with his side now on the verge of creating history.
Having deservedly been a goal down at half-time, a 2-1 win over Rangers at a pulsating Tynecastle strengthened their position at the top of the league.
With just three games remaining, Hearts are three points clear of Celtic and now seven ahead of Rangers.
McInnes’ men can extend that gap by a further three points if they win at Motherwell on Saturday evening before the Old Firm clash at Parkhead the following day with a home game against Falkirk and a trip to Celtic Park to come.
Asked what will now be required to seal a first title since 1960, the manager warned that they’ll have to play for 90 minutes of each match.
‘If we play in the manner we did in the second half, then we’re difficult to stop,’ he said.
Derek McInnes says Hearts will be hard to stop if they play like they did in the second half
‘But if we play in the manner we did in the first half, then we’re susceptible to losing games.
‘Seventy-six points for a Hearts team is a remarkable number with three games to go. I’m so proud of what the players have given us. I think it might be our record points tally.
‘It’s good that you’ve come from behind because you know it’s under the bonnet, you know it’s there.
‘But if we can’t keep doing that. Obviously, next weekend we play before Rangers and Celtic, but it’s another pivotal weekend.
‘So, it’s exciting for Scottish football, so exciting for our club to be where we are.
‘But like I said a few weeks back, I’m not here to get a pat on the back for good old Hearts putting up a fight. It’s way beyond that now. We’ve got to try and go and win it now.’
Second best in the first half, McInnes’ side were transformed in the second period, turning the game on its head through goals from Stephen Kingsley and Lawrence Shankland.
Striker Lawrence Shankland scores the decisive goal in a 2-1 win over Rangers at Tynecastle
‘There’s no straightforward games,’ said the manager. ‘Credit to the players. They’ve dug that out.
‘I was annoyed with a lot of what we had in the first half. It’s understandable, maybe, given the enormity of the situation, but thankfully the second-half performance was far more like what we’d been all season.
‘Half-time couldn’t have come quick enough for us to make changes because it wasn’t a change of system in the second half, it was a change of mindset, it was a change of approach and a wee reminder to them that they don’t get top of the league by turning up and playing the way they did in the first half.
‘The team’s been at the top end of the league a few weeks now and I think there’s a reason for that. We needed to go and be better than what Rangers were in the first half.
‘I thought we were, in terms of spirit, in terms of goal attempts, pressure, asking the question a wee bit more and putting a bit more stress on their back line and their goalkeeper and thankfully it paid off.’
Hearts will finally take Rangers out of the equation if they win at Fir Park but McInnes insists he’s not yet counting out Danny Rohl’s men.
‘I’d never say that,’ he insisted. ‘Rangers are capable of winning the next three games. The onus is on us to still win games as ever.
‘Of course, I wouldn’t say that. I think it makes it difficult, but I wouldn’t be giving it up if I was in their position. Every team has got something to play for.’
Hearts could win the title by beating Falkirk at home in the penultimate game if they win at Motherwell and Celtic fail to beat Rangers.
Adamant that he’s anticipating the race going down to the final game, McInnes said: ‘I’m preparing for that. I think we have to think that way.
Shankland and Alexandros Kyziridis celebrate the goal that put Hearts three points clear
‘It’s a big week now. We’ve got three games in a week. We’ve got to dust ourselves down and see how we go in terms of how the lads are feeling. I know I’ve said it before, hopefully we can get Cammy (Devlin) and Harry (Milne) back for Saturday.
‘It will deserve full attention again. We’re in a good position, but we’re only in a good position if we continue to win games.’
McInnes was asked what he’d have said back in August if someone suggested that his side would be closing in on the title with three games left.
‘I think it would have been foolish to think that you could get to where we’ve got to,’ he said.
‘You would never have expected that. I said I wanted 18 wins as quickly as possible to guarantee Europe and thankfully we got that a while back.
‘The whole club has a lot of positivity about it, but we know the main driver of the club is the first team and it’s important that we try and keep trying to do our job well for a wee bit.’
