Hearts midfielder Blair Spittal says the players are “thriving” on the pressure of chasing down the club’s first top-flight title in 66 years.
The Tynecastle club, who visit Kilmarnock on Saturday night, sit five points clear at the top having finished in the bottom six last season.
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And Spittal, who joined the club in June 2024, has been blown away by the turnaround at Tynecastle.
“I think you could see the strength of the squad that we’ve built over the summer,” the 30-year-old said.
“I think it helped going into the League Cup, having that chance to build that bit of momentum as well, going into the season and things have gone really well so far. There’s still plenty of football to be played, we know that.
“It’s mental, considering where we were at this point last year. It’s probably a different kind of pressure to what we were under last year, but it’s one that the boys are thriving on.
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“I’ve never been in this position before, but it’s one that all the boys in the changing room are enjoying at the minute. Like I said, there’s plenty of football still to be played, so we just need to do our job, so we can do it.”
Hearts won 3-0 win at Rugby Park earlier this season but Killie have been strong at home in the league since Neil McCann and Billy Dodds took charge, beating Aberdeen and St Mirren before a last-gasp defeat to Celtic.
“I think regardless of how Kilmarnock are doing, it’s always a tough place to go,” Spittal added.
“We’re under no illusions of how hard it’s going to be. Obviously people will be looking at the last result [5-1 loss at Falkirk], but the form before that was really good.
“We’re expecting the best Kilmarnock to turn up on Saturday so we need to give the best version of ourselves.”
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