Funso Ojo has urged Aberdeen not to give struggling Hearts any encouragement in Sunday's clash at Tynecastle.

The Gorgie side are bottom of the Ladbrokes Premiership, three points adrift of Hamilton and still reeling after their 2-0 Edinburgh derby defeat to Hibernian on Boxing Day.

New Jambos manager Daniel Stendel is looking for his first win after four matches and is already subject to scrutiny but, while many signs point to a positive afternoon for the Dons, Ojo is cautious about the gloom and doom that surrounds the capital club.

He told RedTV: "That is certainly something we should use but you never know how it goes in football.

"They only need one thing to set them off and that gives them a good go.

"We have to make sure we are not the team that sets them off in the right way."

The 28-year-old Belgian joined the Dons from Scunthorpe in a reported £125,000 move in the summer but suffered a hamstring injury against St Johnstone in September.

Ojo returned three months later  in the 1-0 win over Hamilton at Pittodrie on December 14 and is happy to be involved in such a busy period of the season before the winter break.

He said: "I enjoy it. It gives you less time to work on stuff you want to work on but you are in football for the games and that's what we enjoy.

"Now that I am back, I certainly realised how much the game means to me and how much I have missed it.

"So obviously playing Tuesday-Saturday or in this case Wednesday-Sunday is, for me, the nicest thing."