Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes hopes his players have learned the lessons from their last visit to Edinburgh when they make their third trip of the season to Tynecastle tomorrow.
The Dons have won one and lost the other in their previous two visits with the 1-0 Scottish Cup loss in January ending the Reds’ interest in the competition.
But, having won 3-1 in the league in September, McInnes wants his players to show their title credentials in Edinburgh on Friday as they try to cut Celtic’s lead at the top of the table to two points.
He said: “If you compare the league game to the Scottish Cup match then we got a brilliant start in the Premiership one.
“We were clinical when it came to taking chances. We went in and rattled Hearts in that one.
“The difference in the cup tie was that we were the luckiest team alive to go in just 1-0 down at half-time. They imposed themselves on us, we lost a poor goal from a set-play and, while we were much more like ourselves in the second half, Hearts had something to hold on to.
“There’s no doubt we suffered because of our start, so it is important we are the ones who impose themselves from the off in this game.
“It’s something that we talk about all the time here but Hearts were very good at doing it that night.”
McInnes watched most of the Jambos’ 3-1 loss at Celtic last weekend and believes the result does not give a true reflection of Robbie Neilson’s side.
He said: “We trained on Saturday, so I watched 75 minutes of their game before I went down to take in the Dundee-Ross County match.
“I thought Hearts were a credit as they were very brave in the way they played as they tried to take Celtic on.
“They deserve a lot of credit for that as they backed themselves. They played with confidence and probably could have got a second goal at different stages of the first half. That might have had a bearing in the outcome but Celtic were clinical to show why they they are top of the league.
“Hearts gave a very mature performance and it’s always good to see what managers do as Robbie changed the formation and he was very unlucky not to get a positive result.
“They have done very well and we have got a job on our hands.”
McInnes will be without midfielder Barry Robson due to suspension, while attacking duo Adam Rooney and Peter Pawlett remain sidelined.
Robson will be free from suspension for the first game after the split and the Dons manager hopes leading scorer Rooney will also be available as he is making good progress as he recovers from a thigh strain.
