Brad McKay is determined to stake his claim for Hearts' Old Firm double-header after following Robbie Neilson's order to get "back to basics".
The 21-year-old made his first appearance for the Tynecastle side in over two months when he filled in for injured captain Danny Wilson in last week's 1-0 win against Raith Rovers.
It was a cathartic comeback for McKay, who recently approached head coach Neilson to ask what he would need to do to secure a return to the senior side.
Having been told to simply focus on defending and gaining a level of consistency, the Scotland under-21 internationalist insists his self-belief is returning; and he has no intention of being dislodged from his hard-earned defensive berth.
With Wilson still absent due to a hamstring injury, McKay will start against Falkirk this evening, knowing an impressive display could give Neilson a selection headache ahead of consecutive fixtures against Rangers and Celtic.
"Games against the likes of Rangers and Celtic definitely drive you on," said McKay.
"I am determined to show that I am good enough to be a regular. I need to focus on the Falkirk game and concentrate on just doing what I'm good at. Hopefully, that will be enough to stake my claim.
"It's difficult when you are not playing. You are training all week and don't know what you're working for, you don't know if you're going to play at the weekend and you start to question yourself.
"I think it's so important that you have something to work on during the week. That was given to me.
"I asked the manager: 'What do I need to do to play for you?' He told me to be consistent and, first and foremost, defend. In under-20 matches I was complicating things and trying to impress far too much.
"I went away from that and started to defend better and I feel better for that and believe in myself. I've started to believe that I am a good player again and I'm doing the things I'm good at - back to basics."
McKay also revealed that the entire squad has been boosted by Callum Paterson's call-up to the Scotland set-up.
"It definitely gives me a boost to see Callum get the call up and I know the other boys in our team feel the same," he added. "Callum has shown that if you are doing well enough you can get your chance."
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