IAN MURRAY reckons it will be tough for Hearts to maintain their title momentum after a stunning start to the Championship campaign.

But the Dumbarton boss admits the Jambos remind him of previous second tier flag holders Partick Thistle.

Robbie Neilson's side kickedoff their title bid with back-to-back wins over Rangers and Hibernian and head to the Rock tomorrow afternoon top of the standings.

Midfielder Miguel Pallardo became the latest addition to the Jambos ranks yesterday.

Murray said: "Once you have beaten your two main rivals for the league in succession then you have got to be taken as serious contenders.

"They beat Falkirk 4-0 and Raith 4-1 so they know where the goal is. We have to take them seriously, of course.

"At the moment, they and Rangers are nip and tuck. I don't think Rangers have really hit form yet and are only three points behind.

"It is going to be tough for Hearts to keep it up but they have started extremely well.

"They added another new player yesterday so that shows you the strength they have got financially and in terms of numbers in their squad.

"I look at it like when we played Partick Thistle. They were a young team, fast, energetic and passed the ball well.

"Hearts remind me a lot of when they won the league. We handled them fairly well, we beat them and drew with them at home. Hopefully we can do the same on Saturday."

While Hearts are flying high, Dumbarton have just three points to their name thanks to victory over Livingston last time out.

It has been a tough start to the season for the Sons and Murray is eager to keep moving in the right direction.

He said: "It is similar to the Rangers game where there is not a lot of pressure on us but a lot on the opposition.

"The most important thing is that we play to a standard that we know we can. It is about keeping performances at the levels we want and finding some consistency.

"Against Rangers, Hibs and Livi, we weren't at the level we want to be at but we did okay and we have to keep it going."

AFTER facing two of his former clubs already this season, Murray will come up against Hearts for the first time as a manager this weekend.

And the ex-Easter Road skipper said: "It is not really something I have thought about to be honest.

"Maybe if we were going to Tynecastle it would be different because there would be a bigger crowd and it would be more hostile.

"At our place, it isn't too much of a concern. The build-up has been fairly low key."