The Hearts mentality shift explained as Craig Halkett is sent to a specialist

Steven Naismith declared himself satisfied after Hearts' 2-0 win against Motherwell and explained the mentality shift underpinning recent prosperous form. The victory was the Tynecastle club's eighth in succession and stretched their unbeaten run to 12 games as they moved 14 points ahead in third place in the Premiership.

Lawrence Shankland's header and Kenneth Vargas' strike secured the three points after a goalless first half. Naismith, the Hearts head coach, is refusing to look ahead to Celtic and Rangers in the league table but stated that a change in mentality is fuelling his team's progress.

"There has definitely been a mentality shift for sure. We go into every game wanting to win," he said. "We understand there are times where we need to take risks and there are times like today where we need to be patient. You can’t get sucked in to a fight or get frustrated. It’s these wee small things that change the mentality and the progression of the team.

"There is definitely a mentality shift in what we expect from each other and also what we expect the outcome to be. Yeah, there’s going to be bumps in the road and we will get beat and things like that, but I think we will react to those situations better than we would have a year ago.

"I said before the game, the atmosphere in the ground can be a real advantage for us because it can be hard to play in when it is lively and noisy. Brilliant for our players, harder for the opponents. I thought today was that. There were some frustrating moments for us all, but we understand what we are trying to do. The noise was good through the 90 minutes so it was brilliant. Everybody is learning, everybody is getting used to what we are trying to do and maybe understand it a bit better.

"To be honest the game, from the first half to the end, played out the way we expected it to. In the first half it just didn’t click in the final third. When we are playing three at the back, which I think has a place for us, players need to take more risk in possession to get more numbers in the box.

"In the first half we didn’t get that and it suited Motherwell, who wanted us to play around them and that’s what we did. Then when we did change it we lost a bit of control of the game, it was a bit end to end in the first 15 minutes of the second half. But then in possession we were really good, we were patient, we worked out where the space was, when we could turn and play forward, and the speed of attack was really good.

“The first goal comes from a a free-kick when we have worked really well to draw them in to where the foul is. And when you have the quality of delivery and quality of finish it was a really good goal. Then we managed the game really well. We picked them off brilliantly at times, we could have scored more goals. We come off with two but it wasn’t half-hearted chances, it was good chances we should score more goals from. Overall, it was a really professional controlled performance."

Asked if he is beginning to look towards catching Celtic and Rangers, Naismith replied: "No. They’re still a bit ahead. We will get to April/May and if we are fortunate enough to be close then you can dream. For us, we just need to keep winning games and the gap will be bigger. We know as a squad but it’s week to week. The way we managed the game today, our speed of attack, these are the real markers of progression for me which should ultimately lead to success."

Shankland claimed his 26th goal of the season and Vargas has now found the net in five of his last nine outings at club level. He also struck the Motherwell post. "He’s hungry. He’s a brilliant kid who has seen an opportunity and he has taken it," said Naismith of the Costa Rican. "His football knowledge is definitely beyond his years and he has got great attributes in terms of his touch, his pace and his understanding.

"He was unlucky not to score another one today and he is a constant threat. He is good enough to drop in, as you seen, and he also understands when there is space to run into. It was brilliant for him but it wasn’t just him. Macaulay [Tait] did well, Cammy [Devlin] got on the pitch and saw the game out well, and so did Natty [Atkinson]. It’s a squad and there will be guys disappointed that they didn’t get on or had to come off the pitch, but throughout the season everyone has contributed and they will continue to. Come the end of the season we will remember some good times if it all finishes well."

Shankland's contribution was prominent once again. "He's the best striker in Scotland so he has got a value to us," remarked Naismith. "That frustration, everybody is learning. We understand we keep making our passes, we keep trying to open up space that we want to then kill teams with. We are doing it well at the moment so it is a good moment and each week we review it, we look at it and learn from it. Hopefully, come the end of the season we are successful."

Hearts face Rangers, Hibs and Celtic in their next three matches and Naismith knows the level of opposition lying in wait. "It will be a different challenge. The last few games, we've had are teams that want to be compact and not get beat. The next three games you'd expect to be a bit more open which I think we play our best football when the games are a bit more open. It will be a different challenge but one we are confident going into and take points from."

Midfielder Beni Baningime was withdrawn at half-time against Motherwell after appearing to hold his hamstring late in the first half. "He's okay. He was just fatigued which he is a bit more frustrated about. We have got a strong squad and we know we have got players who can come on and help us. It made sense to take him off and not risk him," said Naismith.

The head coach added that Craig Halkett's knee injury is to be examined further in the coming days: "He'll see a specialist next week." Halkett was forced off during the first half of last week's Scottish Cup tie against Airdrie and had the injury scanned in midweek.