Returning to Tynecastle is nothing new to Jamie MacDonald, but the lack of fans will make his latest visit different from the others, and he hopes Raith Rovers can take advantage.
The Scottish Cup winning ‘keeper will be between the sticks for tonight’s Betfred Cup clash with Hearts.
MacDonald is well aware of the quality Robbie Neilson 's team possesses, but believes the empty ground could act as something of a leveler.
“It will be strange to go there when it’s empty but hopefully we can use it to our advantage,” he said.
“There will be some boys who have maybe never played in that sort of environment before and it can be quite daunting.
“So hopefully with the crowd not being there it’s something we handle really well and hopefully we can pick up points.
“Having been at Hearts myself, you have those times where you’re maybe not doing well and the crowd start having a bit of a go at you.
“On those occasions it’s up to the mentality of the players on the park to grind their way through it.
“But at least for the first part of the game, it will be to our advantage that there’s no fans there. So as long as we start well, we can really use it as a positive.
“With the squad they’ve got, realistically Hearts shouldn’t be anywhere near this league.
“So it’s going to be difficult but hopefully we can go there and get a win and put a bit of a marker down for the upcoming league campaign.”
