Team bonding, Spanish scan results & derby prep - McInnes talks training camp
Derek McInnes is focusing on giving his Hearts players a "change of scenery" this week but knows what's waiting for his players when they return to domestic action. With Hearts not involved in the Scottish Cup semi-finals this weekend, they have used the free time to head off for a warm weather training camp in Spain. The Tynecastle club, currently a point clear at the Premiership summit, return to action on 26 April with a derby trip to face Edinburgh rivals Hibernian at Easter Road.
But before then, McInnes is using this week as a chance to get some more action for players returning from injury. "We thought a change of scenery, a change of environment, would allow the players to focus on themselves for a period," he told Hearts TV. "We're hoping we get the benefit of it.
I don't think it does us any harm. It's not going to guarantee better results but I certainly think there's more good from it than anything else. "We're still to get word back on Oisin McEntee.
He is feeling better, we got him scanned out here but the scan results came back in Spanish so we need to get that translated to see the extent of it. "Harry [Milne] is stepping up his work, Tomas [Magnusson] is here but we know he's up against it to get back playing before the end of the season. "We're mindful it's an opportunity to top up some work for the lads that have not been playing.
" While McInnes is striving to take his players' minds off the pressure-cooker title race, he admits the looming derby - the first of Hearts' five post-split fixtures - is "hard to ignore". "We're trying not to think too much about that game at the minute," McInnes said. "It's important not to get too caught up in it but it's hard to ignore.