Frankie Kent discusses the push from Hearts management with the future in mind

No-one at Riccarton is prepared to let standards drop

Four games left in a demanding season and third place all but secured for Hearts. That does not mean anyone at Riccarton will be allowed to relax or drop standards. Defender Frankie Kent explained that head coach Steven Naismith and his management team are constantly pushing players to reach for the next level.

For Hearts, that is getting closer to Celtic and Rangers, plus qualifying for European league-stage football each year and aiming to lift silverware. All of which is easier said than done but supporters should feel encouraged that the correct messages are being sent out by those in charge. Ahead of Saturday’s visit to Celtic, the aim is to finish the season with some conviction.

“Yeah, well try to as best we can,” said Kent. “With how the manager tries to push it and what he's trying to do with the team, we don't want to let our standards drop. We want to finish the season strong.” Beating Celtic 2-0 on each of their last two encounters offers plenty hope for those from Gorgie.

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“Of course, yeah. It's a big thing,” added Kent. “We want to progress as a team and to beat one of the best teams in the league again would be good. That would set us up to go into next year and have full belief to keep trying to push and improve.

“That's what we want to get to and that's what the manager is trying to push to us - to try and take that next step. These are the big games. Throughout previous years, the top two are the top two. We are trying to cement our place and lessen the gap a little bit. We won the home game against Celtic, albeit I wasn't playing in that game. That shows we are progressing as a team and trying to take steps forward in the right direction.”

Kent identified December’s 2-0 win at Celtic Park as an inspiring moment in Hearts’ campaign. They lost tamely at Aberdeen the previous weekend and sat sixth in the Premiership before that afternoon in Glasgow. “It gave us a bit of a kick and a springboard from that result. We were going: 'We know how good we can be.' We set a standard that day of how everyone wanted to play.

“It wasn't good enough [at Aberdeen], we knew that and we reflected on it. Thankfully, we got the performance and result and it springboarded us to go and do what we have done for the rest of the season. In all honesty, we weren't really thinking about anyone else in terms of the league or what anyone else was going to be thinking [on that day]. Because of how the Aberdeen game went, we demanded it from ourselves.

“I feel we probably let ourselves down in that second half at Aberdeen so there was a reaction from that. It springboarded us forward, gave us confidence and belief that this is the sort of level we need to be at all the time. I think we have done that. I don't know how many we have lost since then so I think it proves that, from that result and that moment in the season, I think it changed.”