By Gordon Parks

Copyright dailyrecord

Stephen Kingsley insists Aberdeen’s struggles serve as a cautionary tale for anyone getting caught up in the hype over a potential Hearts title challenge. It’s also why the Jambos defender believes the only horizon in their focus is a derby win over Hibs on Saturday evening. Two points clear at the Premiership summit after an unbeaten start has triggered talk of the Tynecastle side being a credible bet to at least claim second place finish and split the perennial Old Firm one-two at the top. The full-back admits beating their Edinburgh rivals is the immediate extent of their grand ambitions. Aberdeen also flew out the traps last term but faded to finish fifth – and now prop up the Premiership pile. Kinglsey said: “I think it’s only natural for people to get excited about challenging the Old Firm because it’s just been the same narrative for so long. ” That’s understandable but from our point of view, we can’t concern ourselves with that. We know what our objectives are, what we need to do. I think it’s dangerous thinking too far ahead “That’s it. Saturday is a massive game for us in terms of landing a marker, but that’s the opening part of the season done. That’s all it is. “You look at Aberdeen at the beginning of last season, then they didn’t do well the second part of the season. that just shows you what can happen in football. “I think Scottish football in general is like that, you look at Hibs last year, they were down with us at the bottom by Christmas time and then look how they finished. I think when you go on runs like that in Scottish football, you tend to shoot up the league.” The transformation of fortunes at Hearts under Derek McInnes is a stark contrast to the dark days of last term’s failings and Kingsley is adamant having the fans tuned into talk of great things being achieved in the months ahead is music to his ears despite his words of caution. He said: “if we can keep that atmosphere going with the fans, and they keep talking about it, it means we are continuing to do our job. So it’s almost kind of simplified for us. “We know what we need to do, and we know we need to keep that good feeling going and see where it takes us, then we’ll see where it goes. Saturday is a massive one, and we want to go into the international break having a real solid cluster of games there, and looking forward ahead to the next one. “It’s a good marker to see where we’re at just now as well. We’ve obviously got a really good result at Ibrox by beating Rangers but Edinburgh derbies are just a bit different. “Usually, form kind of goes out the window in these games It’s one of those crazy games, crazy encounters. So it’s one that we’re all looking forward to but that’s all we’re really thinking about now. “If we can get a win in that one, we’re in a great position. You then go into the international break and you can then maybe sit down and look at where you are – where you maybe project you want to be for the next international break in November and set small targets along the season, small little targets to keep ticking off and keeping that vibe going, that atmosphere and being a place where teams don’t want to play against you. “If the fans want to speak and get excited about whatever, then absolutely, that’s their right to do that. We’ll keep our heads down and make sure we’re doing the right things every day in training.” Hearts failed to deliver any capital derby wins last season and Kingsley is convinced having a squad with experience of these occasions as well as new recruits who’ll be sampling it for the first time can become anther afternoon as business as usual. He said: “There’s obviously that extra pressure with it being an Edinburgh derby, but it’s a challenge that we’re all looking forward to. “There’s some boys that haven’t played in one as well. We’re just focusing on doing what we need to do in the training bits to make sure we’re as ready as we can be. “We’ve had conversations throughout the week about what it’s going to be like and what we’re obviously planning on doing, a game plan of what we’re looking to execute. I’ve spoken to some of the new boys about what it’s going to be like, but nothing too major. “We don’t want to get overwhelmed by the occasion, especially the boys that haven’t played in it before. We want to make sure everyone’s focused and ready to execute a game plan. “We certainly don’t want to be swallowed up by the occasion and let it get on top of us. So, at the end of the day, it’s another game, but it’s an exciting one to come up. “The boys that have never played in it will experience something they’ve probably not experienced before and that can be a good thing.” Whether Hearts can sustain their stunning early season form remains to be seen but Kingsley is adamant being able to win games despite not hitting top form has been an added bonus and he insists it’s about being the sum of all parts. ‘Even when we’ve not particularly played well, we’ve been winning games, which is a great sign, a great marker to have as a team. He said: “When you’re not at your best and you’re getting results and grinding them out, that’s brilliant. I think you’ve seen maybe in the last two weeks especially that performances have been better. “In the last two games, defensively, we’ve looked really good as a team. Not just defenders, but the whole team has looked good right from the front and we’ve managed to be a bit more solid at the back, I feel like there’s goals in us as well and we’re going to get chances and it’s just about taking them. As a defender, obviously, if we can concentrate on keeping a clean sheet, then we’ll have a good chance.”