How Derek McInnes is really feeling ahead of Hearts vs Celtic as boss addresses Hoops form

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Derek McInnes has described Celtic as a ‘winning machine’ despite the club’s poor recent form.

The Hearts boss is gearing up for a top of the Scottish Premiership table encounter on Sunday as the Hoops visit Tynecastle.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
1	Heart Of MidlothianHeart Of Midlothian	8	7	1	0	19	6	13	22
2	CelticCeltic	8	5	2	1	11	5	6	17

Celtic fell five points behind the Jambos at the weekend as Brendan Rodgers watched his ‘Honda Civic’ side lose 2-0 to Dundee at Dens Park.

Hearts looked convincing in their 3-0 away victory over Kilmarnock on Saturday, which is a cause for Celtic concern.

• READ MORE: Hearts receive three injury boosts as Derek McInnes speaks ahead of Celtic

Hearts boss McInnes dismisses Celtic’s poor form

But McInnes maintains that the Bhoys still provide the ‘biggest challenge’ in Scotland, even though they have failed to score in six of their 14 games this season.

McInnes shared his thoughts with the Edinburgh Evening News, saying: “It’s a big game but I want us to be playing big games every week. Saturday at Kilmarnock was a big game, the derby was a big game. I just think this is another big game.

“There’s a bit more focus on this one for obvious reasons. We just need to try and deal with the game.

“Celtic are a winning machine. They are used to winning. Yes, they had a bad result at the weekend but they still provide the biggest challenge for most teams.

“Celtic is always a tough game but I just want us to be as tough an opponent as we can possibly be. We are all looking forward to Sunday.

Hearts last 5 league results

“It’s still early in the season but it’s a chance to pit ourselves against a really good team and hopefully we can deliver a performance. It’s still down to us to deliver a performance.

“Celtic will be ready for it and we’ll be ready for it, so there will be a lot of good players on the pitch.

“You work hard to get into this sort of position. Players are confident, the team is playing with belief, scoring goals and keeping clean sheets.

“It’s what you want as a manager, but it doesn’t give you any guarantee going into a game. It certainly helps going into a game you’re in good form like that.

Celtic’s last 5 league results

“This game will be a test but I feel as if we are ready. Hopefully it’s one where we can deal with the game. I think we will deal with the game but we need to try to find a way to win to get the outcome we all want.

“In terms of having players available and just how the team is looking, we are in a good place going into Sunday. The main thing is trying to make sure we are in a good position coming out of the game as well.”