Jim Jefferies expressed delight at his Hearts side's display in a 5-0 victory which illustrated the full scale of the task faced by Craig Brown at Aberdeen.
Rudi Skacel scored twice, with David Templeton, Stephen Elliott and Arvydas Novikovas also on target as Hearts romped to a fifth straight win, scoring 13 times without conceding in the process.
Jefferies was wary of the Dons before kick-off and delighted with his side's display, saying: "I thought they would be up for it and try and impress, but we made the players aware of that and they were outstanding."
He added: "They did all the right things to not let Aberdeen get going at all and I think at the end of the day we could have had one or two more."
Jefferies believes 70-year-old Craig Brown and Archie Knox - assistant to Sir Alex Ferguson as Aberdeen enjoyed domestic and European success in the 1980s - are capable of arresting the Dons' slide after taking charge following the departure of Mark McGhee.
"Craig knows he's got a job on his hands," added the Hearts boss.
"They've got the right men in charge and they'll get their message across, starting next week.
"They've got a wealth of experience, contacts and know how to handle people. All these skills will be needed to try to get them up the league and I'm sure they'll do it.
"They're a big club and they'll improve, but right now their confidence is down."
Source: PA
