THE scintillating start that Hearts had, until their unimpressive 0-0 draw with Livingston at Tynecastle on Saturday at least, made to the Ladbrokes Premiership campaign had led many to speculate about their future prospects.
But nobody within Craig Levein’s squad had suggested they could challenge for the Scottish title this season after they had won their opening five league games.
The Betfred Cup, though, is an altogether different matter. The capital club’s players are keen to enjoy an extended run in the competition. What is more, they believe they are more than capable of going all the way.
Overcoming Motherwell, who reached the final of the tournament and the William Hill Scottish Cup last season, won’t be easy. They had to fight hard to edge out their opponents 1-0 in a top flight game at Fir Park eight days ago. They will need to be far better than they were at the weekend to prevail in their last eight tie.
But John Souttar, the Hearts captain and centre half, is happy to admit they would like to progress further and are confident they can, despite their off day against Livingston, vie for silverware.
“The game on Saturday was a harsh lesson,” he said. “But we’re unbeaten and you don’t want to be too negative. We’ve won the first five of the season and we’ve started really well. It’s important we don’t let the heads drop after one game. It’s not the end of the world.
“The full focus is on Wednesday. Motherwell are no pushovers. It’s important we go again on Wednesday and get the win that will take us to Hampden. I think that would top the start to the season to be honest. Having something like that to look forward to would be brilliant.
“I’ve not been there with this club before. We’ve not had too many cup runs, so it would be good to get one. This club and the fans would thrive off it. You saw the scenes in 2012 (when Hearts beat Hibs 5-1 to win the Scottish Cup).
“Everyone else was speaking about titles. I don’t think anyone in our changing room was mentioning that. But if we can get to a final we’ll see what happens. A club like Hearts have to win cups, it’s as simple as that. It’s a great chance for us. When I played at Hampden with Scotland it was amazing. It makes you want it more.”
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