Copyright scotsman
Hearts are preparing for more fixture rearrangement next month as a result of St Mirren’s progress to the Premier Sports Cup final. The two teams are due to meet in the William Hill Premiership at Tynecastle Park on Saturday, 13 December. However, with the aforementioned final taking place the following day, the Scottish Professional Football League are set to reschedule the match. Celtic’s game at Falkirk, currently due to be played on Sunday, 14 December, will also be moved. The change means yet another Saturday 3pm game will be taken off Hearts’ fixture list, which has been a common theme recently. Of their 11 Premiership games played so far this season, only five have taken place in the traditional Saturday afternoon timeslot. The SPFL will confirm a new date and kick-off time in due course for fixtures affected by the Premier Sports Cup final. St Mirren beat Motherwell at Hampden in Saturday’s semi-final, with Celtic defeating Rangers 3-1 after extra-time in the second semi on Sunday. The change should give Hearts some respite during what will be a busy festive period. The Edinburgh club are down to play seven times between 3 December and 3 January, so moving the St Mirren match will mean a bit of space to breathe. Derek McInnes’ side currently hold a nine-point lead at the top of the Premership table after beating Dundee 3-0 at Tynecastle on Saturday. Striker Landry Kabore scored his first two goals in maroon since signing in August, and McInnes was delighted with his contribution. “I thought Kabore arrived today, he let people know what he's all about. Him and a few others are starting to build that reputation,” said the head coach. “He's got to play with aggression. Sometimes you can't always show that in training because obviously it's training against your team-mates and you try to be competitive - but he's a physical player. He's a good size, he's got lovely feet but the starting point for him is his aggression. He can't just go out and try and show he's a good player. “I think a wee bit he was getting the game the wrong way round at the start when he first came in. He wanted to show the lads he's a good player, which is fine but what we need him for in Scottish football is to make sure he has that focal point and that kind of physicality to the front line. “Then show your skills off the back of that. I think since he came back from his international hat-trick, obviously the first Hearts player to score an international hat-trick, sometimes when I watch his goals back, I think: ‘Thank God he's mine.’ He looks the real deal. “Maybe sometimes you just need to see him in that game situation. We've seen wee bits and pieces in bounce games, we've seen wee bits and pieces in training all the time. And his attitude has been great, he's been really supportive like the rest of the lads when the team's winning. “He takes as much pleasure in the team winning when he's not involved. So that's why it's really important for all these boys, particularly Landry, that we take pleasure in the impact he's had on the team. And he should feel so good about himself.”
