'Hearts good enough to win trophies and no point believing otherwise'

Hearts are targeting silverware this season and head coach Derek McInnes insists there's "nothing wrong" in saying so.

The Tynecastle side go to St Mirren on Saturday for the second round of the Scottish League Cup, having started the McInnes era with six straight wins across that competition and the league.

They are top of the fledgling Scottish Premiership table and new investor Tony Bloom boldly claimed they can finish "at least second" this season.

Optimism is rife in Gorgie and McInnes says sights should be set high at a club of Hearts' stature.

"There's nothing wrong with setting lofty ambitions and seeing the endgame," he said. "We've got to try to imagine that day at Hampden.

"Obviously, we've got to try to beat St Mirren, who over a period of time have shown they are a good side.

"But if we can get through this one, we're 90 minutes away from a semi-final. We go into the game with high expectations of ourselves."

Hearts have revamped their squad this summer following Bloom's investment and McInnes' appointment, but the new faces have been told in no uncertain terms what expectations are.

"I've said this to them a few times. There's not one player should have signed for Hearts without having that aspiration to win a trophy here," McInnes said.

"Players sign for clubs for loads of reasons - financially, seeing it as a stepping stone to something bigger - but a fundamental part of signing for a club like Hearts should be that you want to be successful and lift silverware."

Hearts last won a major honour in 2012 and haven't lifted the League Cup since 1963. McInnes is determined to end that drought.

"That's what we all want - I want that for me and my staff," he said.

"If we don't win the cup, it doesn't mean we were wrong to say it. I don't think you're setting yourself up for a fall.

"We do believe we're good enough to go the full way and there's no point believing otherwise."

McInnes was asked whether he has been surprised by Hearts' fast start to the season, following four wins in the League Cup group stages and then successive Premiership victories over Aberdeen and Dundee United.

He says they are simply matching expectations and cannot afford to get ahead of themselves.

"We've not done anything I wouldn't have expected of us," he said. "It's not as if we're ripping up trees and doing things we weren't expecting of ourselves.

"I expected us to beat Aberdeen and I expected us to win the group stages of the cup and I expected a tough game at Dundee United, but I always expected we could win that game.

"We need to set about the task quietly, don't bump our gums, work hard and see where it takes us."