Hearts develop siege mentality to ride out the storm as Celtic threaten to storm Tynecastle

Alex Cochrane says Hearts are keeping spirits high despite having to deal with a tough schedule and injuries.

Despite plenty of reasons not to be cheerful, defender Alex Cochrane is taking it all in his stride. He is at least one of the Hearts squad who has steered clear of injury, even if it has meant being shunted all over the backline. His performance in the recent 5-1 defeat by Fiorentina was singled out by the Italian press, those journalists perhaps not realising that centre-half in a back-four is not the 22-year-old’s natural position. Some thrashings in Europe and Sunday’s Premiership loss at Aberdeen has increased disquiet from the fanbase. Hearts know they need to ride out a bit of storm, confident fortunes will turn when the likes of Craig Halkett, Kye Rowles, Beni Baningime and Liam Boyce return to reinforce the ranks for the second part of the season.

Playing Celtic on Saturday lunchtime without those players, plus the likely absences of Gary Mackay-Steven, Peter Haring and Nathaniel Atkinson, will be challenging even if Andy Halliday is fit and the duo of Michael Smith and Josh Ginnelly are in contention, but Cochrane is not shirking it. He feels those remaining in the matchday squad are building up a siege mentality and have had some time to prepare at their training base given a rare free midweek.

“We have to approach the Celtic match with a positive mindset,” said Cochrane. “We haven't been at our best recently and results haven't been what we wanted, but we have to be as positive as we can be. If we play our best stuff then we definitely feel we've got a chance. I think this is the kind of game we wanted – a 12.30 kick off on TV. Celtic come to town, we know they're going to be at it, the crowd are going to be at it, and we need to produce as well. We want to be winning every week. We know we've got quality with the players we've got. We know we have to proper dig it out. The boys' spirits are still high, I think they've got to be during this sticky period for us.”

Cochrane has been able to blank out the criticism – “it's all outside noise, we don't really look into it that much” – but one thing he cannot ignore is the injury toll. “It's part of football,” continued Cochrane. “The players we've got out are in key positions for us. We've got plenty of players who can come in and certainly do a good job. I don't think it can be used as an excuse. The players who come in have got to step up. We're looking to improve it and push on toward the November break.”

One thing Cochrane does have experience of – albeit very limited – is VAR, with the tech in operation this weekend. He was at the AMEX Stadium as a Brighton youngster when it was used for the first time in England four years ago against Crystal Palace. “I was actually at the game,” he added. “There was a potential handball [for Glenn Murray's winner]. Just being in the stadium was a bit of a weird experience. Since then you've seen how much VAR has helped football come along, so I think it's only a positive for the Scottish game.”