Gary Mackay-Steven admitted he was expecting a series of bruising Championship encounters after arriving at Hearts and has not been disappointed in his first two games for the Tynecastle side.
The 30-year-old completed his first 90 minutes in maroon since joining the Gorgie outfit on a free transfer earlier this month, but ended up on the losing side as Raith Rovers claimed a shock 3-2 win.
The former Aberdeen, Celtic and Dundee United winger has a shot at redemption on Tuesday evening as Robbie Neilson's men go to Stark's Park for the second game of a double header between the sides.
And while he conceded the Jambos were 'well off the pace' against the Fife outfit on Saturday, Mackay-Steven told how he could feel full fitness returning for the first time since joining the club following his departure from New York City.
“I haven't trained all that much to be honest with different things, but I got 45 minutes last week and 90 on Saturday," he said.
“That's my first for a while but that's only going to do me good going forward for fitness, so I’m delighted. It's a disappointing result but it's good that we've got a quick turnaround with another game tonight.
“I didn't think I'd have 90 in me but it was good. You get your match fitness from playing games. I got a half last week and a full game this week and there's plenty of games to come so I’m not too far away.”
Hearts hold a six-point advantage over second-place Dunfermline at the second tier's summit, though Rovers could move level with their Kingdom rivals should they do the double over Neilson's side.
Former Tynecastle stopper Jamie MacDonald was in near-unbeatable form in the Raith goal for their visit to Gorgie at the weekend, but Mackay-Steven admitted his side "did not do enough" to win the game, adding they will need to step up for the midweek encounter.
He said: “There are good teams, you have to work for everything and if you're not on it and taking all your chances, teams will punish you.
“There's no quarter given and I knew there wouldn't be.
“Raith are a good team, they score goals and their keeper had an amazing game as well as them missing a penalty. We hold our hands up, Raith deserved it. We weren't at our level but we go again tonight.”
