Steven Naismith has warned Hearts will face a different Dundee side to the one they trounced 6-2 on the opening day of the Championship season when the Jambos go to Dens Park on Saturday.
The veteran forward hit a first half hat-trick inside six minutes in the midweek win over Arbroath at Tynecastle as Robbie Neilson's men extended their lead at the top of the second tier to five points.
The 34-year-old was an unused sub when James McPake's side were blown away by the Gorgie outfit in October, a game that saw the hosts leading 4-1 at the break.
But Naismith insisted while he was relishing the prospect of another battle with former Rangers teammate Charlie Adam in the Dee midfield, the Jambos should be wary of taking their opponents lightly on their own patch.
He said: "They have been on a good run and they have got a few consistent wins. It is a dangerous game but we will be ready for it.
"They will want to put a marker down, especially after the first game of the season, and say they are going to challenge for the title
"We will need to be ready as it will be a different game as they are at home and they will fancy their chances."
The Jambos sole league defeat this season came at the hands of Dunfermline back in November, but Neilson's side have been in imperious form since then, scoring 19 times on the way to winning their last five games.
The Tynecastle outfit have a game in hand over the Pars at the Championship's summit, but Naismith has cautioned his teammates they must take their relentless streak into 2021 against a Dundee side on their own five game unbeaten league run.
“We want to increase the gap and every game we play is all about winning," he said.
"We don’t really look at the other teams, if we can keep winning the gap will become bigger. You don’t want to get to the point where there is a nervousness to our performance.
"We have been good at that so far and that’s what everyone keeps saying, just concentrate on the next game.”
