Hearts manager Robbie Neilson will try to instil belief in his team that they can beat Celtic twice this week but has admitted Ange Postecoglou’s Bhoys are “outstanding” at the moment.
Celtic take on the Jam Tarts in league action on Wednesday night at Celtic Park. Then it’s a trip to Tynecastle for a huge Scottish Cup quarter-final clash.
Postecoglou’s side have beaten the Edinburgh club twice in the two matches with them already this season, but both have been competitive affairs – especially the 4-3 victory in the capital back in October.
Red-hot Celtic are a big ask for Hearts
Neilson said of the match this week [Daily Record]: “We go to Parkhead and then they come here, it is always difficult. We need to go there and try and win the game. We have a way of playing and we want to take that to Celtic, challenge ourselves against one of the top teams in the country.
“They are outstanding at the moment, have a great squad and good manager. It’s a hard place to go and if we go there and just bang it we will get beat so we need to go and play the way we want to.”
He added [Hearts FC]: “Parkhead is always a difficult place to go, but I think with the belief we have in the group just now, we can take confidence into that game.
“The big thing for me in these games is belief, both in the team and in yourself. We’re not going to go there and control the whole game, but we have to control periods and when we have possession, we need to make the right decisions.
“The difficult thing is trying to get pressure on them higher up the pitch because technically they have some very good players. So, we have to be brave in our positioning and then try and shut off the areas that they try to play in.”
You just know that Celtic won’t be complacent for either fixture either. Postecoglou has this group playing with a steely determination in the quest for trophies. With the expectation that Hearts will provide a tough test by Scottish football standards, the Bhoys will be right up for these ones.
The match at Tynecastle looks particularly tasty with the home end set to be busy and Celtic bringing more than 3,000 supporters to the Roseburn Stand. It’s an exciting week for both clubs and I’m looking forward to the Bhoys coming out on top.
In other news, Kris Commons reckons Celtic have Rangers on the brink of ‘things really blowing up’.
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