Gary Mackay: League games are far more important for Hearts than Hibs cup semi-final

You can look forward to this Scottish Cup semi-final between Hearts and Hibs, and rightly so. It is a break from the league and it is against our Edinburgh rivals, so it will be quite a spectacle.

However, our games against St Mirren, Ross County and Hamilton between now and the end of the season are more important than the semi-final of any cup.

Anybody who knows my feelings on Hearts will realise what a big statement that is for me to make. The Edinburgh derby was always pivotal in my thinking and I love recalling being undefeated for 22 games in a row and 17 games in a row against Hibs. You are proud of that when you look back.

Focus has to be on league games

That said, things like that would have paled into insignificance if I’d been involved in a team that was relegated from the top league in Scotland. That is the real balancing act Hearts have just now. They have to really focus on the league games.

On Saturday, we went 1-0 down before fighting back to get a draw. I thought the performance was sound overall. The manager attempted to go and win the game with his substitutions at half-time, which is great to see.

That same commitment and desire needs to be there from the majority of players. That’s the concern for me. Craig Halkett made a mistake and got punished on Saturday, but his attitude and desire to recover is exactly what we need. Michael Smith showed the same mentality.

Attitude and desire 'will make all the difference'

Sometimes you don’t need to be doing stepovers or making a decisive pass. Those are important, but it’s the desire and attitude which will make the difference between now and the end of the season. Every player has to focus on that, individually and collectively.

If you thought you would take four points from your Edinburgh rivals and another team sitting third in the league, you would expect to gain on teams round about you. Unfortunately, that hasn’t really happened. Because of what Hearts, Hamilton and St Mirren have done in the last few games, you now have to start looking at Ross County.

Before the split happens, Ross County need to come to Tynecastle so that could also be a pivotal fixture in the grand scheme of things. So before the end of the season, we have St Mirren to play twice and County to play twice.

Hearts have plenty firepower to shoot them to safety. Conor Washington plays right up top but the other two, Liam Boyce and Steven Naismith, have a desire to break their backs to win possession back if it is lost. That’s what it’s about because it takes pressure off the midfielders.

Naturally, these guys want to get in the box and hurt teams. Yet it’s really encouraging that they have pride as professional footballers to help the team out of possession. It has never been more important for each individual to be a good team-mate.