Hearts striker Gavin Reilly insists Robbie Neilson’s side must continue to show no mercy after putting Motherwell to the sword at the weekend.
The Tynecastle outfit racked up their biggest win of the season on Saturday in a 6-0 thrashing of the Steelmen.
Head coach Neilson has previously lamented his side’s failure to kill teams off this season, with Hearts having thrown away winning positions in four previous league matches, including the 2-2 draw at Kilmarnock on January 2.
But former Queen of the South marksman Reilly, who scored from the penalty spot at the weekend in a game that saw six different players find the net, reckons the Gorgie side are becoming more ruthless.
He said: “Kilmarnock is a prime example, we came out in the second half and got the goal that put us 2-1 up and I think after that we squandered a couple of chances and we were poor at the other end.
“But it’s great to see we’re finally taking the chances and winning these games convincingly.
“It was a bit easier than I thought it would be against Motherwell but you can’t think that when you’re playing, you can’t become complacent.
“You still have to keep playing as if it’s 0-0 and I think we did that.
“It was 3-0 at half-time but we were straight back out the traps for the second half and scored another three, and I thought we throughly deserved to win the game.
“Motherwell were on a great run but we were a lot more competitive and took our chances when we got them, and it was a fantastic victory.”
Reilly has started Hearts’ last five matches and has kept Juanma out of the side since the Spanish striker picked up a two-match ban for head-butting St Johnstone’s David Wotherspoon on December 19.
Saturday’s goal took Reilly’s tally to three in his last four matches and the 22-year-old hopes he has done enough to earn a start at Hamilton on Sunday.
Speaking to Hearts TV, he added: “I’m glad I’ve taken my chances, the goals are a bonus but as long as I’m playing well and contributing, that’s good enough for me.
“Another goal and I’m happy with that.
“There were six scorers and that shows we have quality within the team.”
Reilly could face more competition in attack on Sunday after Soufian El Hassnaoui improved his match sharpness with a run out in Tuesday’s 1-1 draw against St Mirren for the Under-20s.
The Dutch-Moroccan has not played a single game this season after tearing a posterior cruciate ligament in July’s pre-season outing at Preston before then picking up a groin strain in November.
