John Robertson. Scott Crabbe. Gary Mackay. Gary Locke, Paul Ritchie, Gary Naysmith. Colin Cameron. Stephane Adam.

It is toward the end of a 15-minute press sit down with Liam Fox when he is asked about the Heart of Midlothian players he counted as heroes or favourites. Then came the names. Legends and cup winners.

A young Liam Fox watched from the Gorgie Stands with his dad and his dad's mate John. Week-in. Week-out. It makes what is going to happen on Saturday afternoon all the more special.

Intrigue was added during the week when a post on social media said his great-grandfather Dick Fox was awarded the Military Medal for gallantry whilst serving with McCrae's Battalion in 1917. The 40-year-old couldn't confirm for definite that was the case so has tasked his dad "to do some digging". 

But what is in no doubt, Fox played twice for Hearts. Once as an 18-year-old and once as a 31-year-old. Both in friendlies.

Against Ross County, however, it will be a competitive game. And he will be standing in the dugout as manager of his boyhood club. Albeit an interim one following the removal of Steven Naismith, Frankie McAvoy and Gordon Forrest.

“It's a huge privilege and a huge honour to be sitting here and looking forward to this week," Fox said.

Admittedly, it is a bittersweet moment. 

"I'm going to try and enjoy it," he said. "The one hint of sadness in it is that three people have lost their job off the back of it. I always need to remember that and be respectful of that."

Still, he is a Hearts fan getting to lead a Hearts team out. With experience, he can separate both aspects.

"Well, I think time helps you; being in the game for a period of time, having different experiences, working for some really good football clubs previously," Fox explained. "I think that period has helped me be able to do it because you can get too emotional about these things.

"My main focus is to help the players, that's my main job. All the rest of the stuff, I hope I cover it off but it's a huge privilege for me. It's a huge honour.

"Did I ever think I would get here? No, but it's okay to dream, it's okay. People have got to have things that they're striving for, so I'm going to give this my absolute best shot for the players and do everything we possibly can so that when the new guy comes in I can hopefully pass the baton on."

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Andrew McKinlay made it clear earlier this week that Hearts' next appointment will be external. Fox understands it is only an interim spell and that "it might only be a week". At the same time, it remains a "huge thing" for a coach who has had spells as manager of Cowdenbeath and Dundee United.

He wants to do everything he "possibly can to help the club and the players". 

That means trying to guide Hearts to their first win of the season at the 10th time of asking. 

Fox has been involved with the first team during Naismith's tenure, the former head coach was keen to involve the B team boss to ensure alignment in the club. So the interim coach is well aware of what has been asked of the squad. 

He won't be "reinventing the wheel" but he will look to put his "own personality" on the team, noting the futility of trying to do the same as before.

"It was really, really good of them guys to open the doors for me," Fox said. "And it was important, it's what Steven wanted. I think it's brilliant for me because I was about the other players a lot last year. I was about them on match days so I've got a good understanding of the things that they were being asked to do.

"What I will say is I'll be a wee bit different to Steven just naturally because everybody's different. Everybody's got different things that they want and they like to see or they're demanding from people. And that's not a criticism, but there's no point in me going and doing exactly the same again because the definition of insanity is doing the same things and expecting different results.

"I think when you come in and you do this job, you have to put a wee bit of your own personality on it. I'm not going to go into loads of detail of what I've done and what I've said and what I'm going to do, or what we're hoping to do.

"I think that the real message for me is that there are some really good players in there. You don't become a bad player just because you have a poor run of results. It's about believing that we're good players and really accepting the challenge that we've got in the coming week."

He added: "I think, as a coach or a manager or an interim manager. I'll take the stick for 98% of things. The two things that I always think are always on players are their attitude and their application. Nobody has shifted me off that. The rest of the stuff I'll take responsibility for, no problem."

That challenge starts with Ross County. And Fox admitted it is on the team and staff to deliver for the fans.

"I think that the hope for me is that I understand the supporters," he said. "We've had a difficult period just now. The onus is absolutely on us to give them something, to bring them with us, to hopefully see some different things. Hope makes the world go round, so that's what I'm hoping for. And off the back of that, there will be moments in any game of football where things don't go right and we may be under pressure.

"We will be under pressure at some point. Passes may go astray. That's the game. I'm hoping if we bring the supporters with us early in the game that there will be moments when we're going to need them and they can hopefully pull us through. There's no doubt Tynecastle when it's full and it's rocking can be very, very powerful. So the onus is on us first, as players and staff."