Josh Ginnelly has called on Hearts to replicate the scintillating display they produced in their last home game as they look to return to winning ways against St Mirren.
The Edinburgh side romped to a 5-2 victory over Dundee United at Tynecastle three weeks ago.
However, they were brought crashing back down to earth as a meek display away to Motherwell brought a 2-0 defeat last weekend.
Ginnelly is hoping the return to home soil for the visit of the Buddies on Saturday can spark a repeat of the exhilarating football they displayed against United.
The attacker said: “The game against Dundee United was brilliant. We put our game on to them and it worked for probably the whole 90 minutes. It was enjoyable but now we’ve got to hopefully perform like that on Saturday.
Ginnelly believes the big crowds Hearts are currently attracting can help give them an edge in games like this one.
He said: “The supporters are a big factor for us. Every game’s different, we can’t just go all out (attack) straight away because we might concede but being at home and having the crowd there, that helps.
“It can hopefully intimidate the other team because they’ve not got as many fans as us. It’s a big factor but we’re the ones on the pitch who have got to go and perform.”
Ginnelly, predominantly a winger, has played as Hearts’ main central striker in a 3-4-3 in the absence of top scorer Liam Boyce in the last two matches.
The Englishman, who is renowned for his pace and not so much for his physical attributes, acknowledges his presence in that position means Hearts have to be more precise with their build-up play.
He said: “I’ve played in a different position the last few games and I’ve enjoyed it. Obviously the last game wasn’t great but I’m still learning that position and I’ll get it right. If I have to play there again, I will.
“With me being back to goal, we need to play a bit more. When we have the bigger targets like Boycie and Armand (Gnanduillet), we can play balls into them a lot more and play off them, whereas with me in that position, it’s a lot different. There has to be a bit more rotation and balls in behind.”
Ginnelly’s first season at Hearts was heavily disrupted by injuries but he has managed to keep himself fit for most of this campaign.
He said: “I’m delighted with getting more game time and a lot less injuries, touch wood. I feel a lot better fitness-wise. I’ve put in a lot of work with the fitness guys so I’ve probably dealt with the training load and games a lot better than I was. Hopefully I can just keep getting better.”
