Ross County manager Jim McIntyre has urged his players to put their cup exploits to the back of their minds.
County last month reached the final of the League Cup courtesy of an impressive 3-1 win against Celtic and they will bid to win their first major silverware against Hibernian on March 13.
The Highlanders also booked their place in the last eight of the Scottish Cup with a 4-2 win against junior outfit Linlithgow Rose on Saturday, setting up a home tie with Dundee United next month.
With the Dingwall outfit fourth in the Premiership, McIntyre says his side must avoid the cup distractions from now on, starting with tonight’s game against Hearts at Victoria Park.
He said: “We need to forget about the cups now. Our bread and butter is the league campaign. We certainly don’t want to take our eye off the ball in terms of the league just because we’ve reached a final and we’re in the quarters of the Scottish Cup.
“The sole focus now, for the next month, is on the league campaign.
“It is a good sign for us, this season, that we can be disappointed with a performance like Saturday’s. But we’ve scored four goals and it is important to remember that.
“Yes, I was a bit frustrated with the performance but we’re still winning games, even though we haven’t been at our best.
“What the Linlithgow game showed – and East Kilbride against Celtic for that matter – is there are no easy games. These teams are stepping out with nothing to lose and gave a good account of themselves.
“From that perspective, I’m delighted to be in the hat for the next round.”
County have lost both encounters against Hearts this season, with a 2-1 home defeat in August followed by a 2-0 loss in Edinburgh in October, and McIntyre is eager to make amends, adding: “Hearts is a big game to look forward to. They have been excellent this season and it has been great to have them back in the league.
“They’re a team we’ve not managed to beat this season, so that’s the carrot for us. We need to try to get the victory.
“I thought at Tynecastle we didn’t do enough, so probably didn’t deserve anything from that game. Here, we deserved a point but we didn’t deserve to win it. We could have created more but I don’t think a draw would have been unfair.”
Defender Scott Boyd is doubtful with a calf strain, while attacker Craig Curran remains sidelined with a head injury, with midfielder youngster Tony Dingwall stepping up his recovery from an ankle injury by scoring the second goal in yesterday’s 2-1 Development League win against Partick Thistle.