Naismith: ‘Hearts need to win to get ourselves moving’

Hearts assistant manager Austin MacPhee admits the club need a confidence booster and hopes to get it against Inverness in the Premier Sports Cup on Tuesday night.

The Jambos have had a torrid start to the season, losing four of their opening six fixtures and failing to score in the Premiership.

A 1-0 win over Livingston in the League Cup on Saturday offered some respite but assistant manager MacPhee knows the team needs to build on that to get themselves moving up the table.

“Getting a win and clean sheet was very important for us,” he said.

"We need to win games to get ourselves moving up the table and hopefully we can use that as a springboard now.”

Hearts host Inverness in the Premier Sports Cup on Tuesday night and MacPhee is expecting a tough test.

“Inverness are a good side and they will be looking to come here and make it difficult for us,” he said.

"They have some good players and they are well organised so we will need to be at our best to get a result.”

Hearts will be without suspended midfielder Cammy Devlin for the match but MacPhee is confident the team can cope without him.

“Cammy is a big player for us but we have other players who can come in and do a job,” he said.

"We have a strong squad and we are confident we can get a result against Inverness.”