Steven Naismith has challenged his players to relish the expectation at Hearts.
The Tynecastle boss is fully aware of the demands that come as a manager and player at Hearts. And he accepts it's a challenge that not every player or coach can handle.
But Naismith has urged his players to thrive in the environment and kick-on to a successful season after a sticky start.
"I'm pretty realistic as a person so I understand that when you become the manager of a club, more so even Hearts with the demand, that if it is not going well then you are under pressure," he said after the 2-1 win over Kilmarnock.
"That is the job. I am comfortable with that. I think this season our performances have either been really entertaining or really flat - we just need to get that consistency.
"We've got some young players in the team, we have had injuries that just disrupt the mentality and the day-to-day working but we need to deal with that and we have got a decent enough squad that we should be able to deal with them. But it's just getting that consistency.
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"For me, that is the biggest thing I want the players to understand, the mentality of the club, what's expected and to play with freedom."
Naismith continued: "It's the biggest thing a player needs to deal with at the club, that demand. It's a mentality that not every player can deal with, not everybody can accept that the expectation is we are trying to get silverware, we are trying to get in Europe. It is hard and the fans are demanding so if it's not going well they will let you know.
"When I was a player I managed to work that around to have an enjoyment with that feeling but it's tough.
"There have been some tough weeks, coming off the back of the result at the weekend the players could have been safe and it could have been hard and got deeper but we didn't we tried to do what we planned to do before the game and ultimately that is what gets us a chance.
"I'm really delighted with the result but more so for me, the performance."
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