Steven Naismith wants to unnerve Rangers and sends Hearts fans message

Hearts manager Steven Naismith has opened up his side's mindset ahead of the visit of Rangers. Naismith's men have managed to pick up three league wins in a row and have finally hit some sort of form in a seesaw campaign to date.

But the Jambos face a tough opposition in the form of second placed Rangers. Hearts sit one place and eight points behind Rangers in the Scottish Premiership and will be eager to try and make up some ground against their rivals.

Naismith will be pleased with how his side have been performing recently with just one defeat in five games, which came against Rangers. They lost a close fought match 2-1 at the Ibrox and Naismith says he is keen on avoiding defeat again.

Speaking at his pre match press conference, Naismith said: "Probably competing is the first step. It’s not about ‘we need to get a result’, it’s about competing and being in the game. Especially if you’re talking Rangers. You have to believe first. You might win, you might not.

"But if you can come off the pitch saying we gave everything, we fought them, and it’s been really close, then I’ll take that now, and then the results will start to follow. We have to unsettle them as much as we can and hopefully take our chances when they come along."

With recent form looking good, the Hearts boss is hoping that the fans will keep backing him and his side. He added: "I do consistently say that each game is different. Tomorrow we need to give the fans something to get behind and go after and enjoy. It’s about having an understanding of how we get the fans behind us and using that as a tool, because it can be so valuable at times."

Hearts' good form in November has been rewarded as Naismith was awarded the manager of the month award. The Jambos won three from three league games in the month and their boss says it's nice that their hard work has been recognised:

"It’s a bit of recognition for the hard work that goes on in the months before. As much as you are not getting the results, the staff and players are always working really hard, so it is a nice bit of recognition for that."