Graeme Shinnie delivers Hearts vs Celtic title verdict ‘knowing’ the Tynecastle dressing room

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Aberdeen star Graeme Shinnie delivers a Hearts vs Celtic title verdict based on what he knows about the Tynecastle dressing room.

Hearts are currently five points clear of Celtic at the top of the Scottish Premiership table with both teams ready to square off in Edinburgh this Sunday.

If Hearts win, eight points will separate Derek McInnes’ side from Celtic with just ten games gone.

And after spending some time with players from Hearts, Shinnie believes that the capital club can put up a serious challenge to the champions.

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Graeme Shinnie believes Hearts can challenge Celtic saying Tynecastle club are ‘more than up for it’

Hearts are feeling bullish this week after their win over Kilmarnock was followed up by Celtic’s defeat to Dundee.

And Shinnie reckons the Edinburgh side have the stomach for the fight.

Shinnie told The Herald, “I don’t see why not. It’s obviously something that’s not happened in Scottish football for a while, but me knowing what’s in the dressing room there, they’ll be more than up for it.

“They probably won’t say they’re in a title challenge now, but you look at the quality that they’ve brought in, the players that are performing now at such a high level, so definitely.

“It’s something that we’re not used to in Scottish football, but hopefully they do it.

“They’ve got a massive game on Sunday [at home to Celtic] and I’m wishing them all the best for that.”

When Graeme Shinnie and Aberdeen bottled title fight with Celtic

Celtic fans will remember all the excitement surrounding Aberdeen’s title challenge last season.

That excitement reached fever pitch when the Dons fought back from 2-0 down at Celtic Park to record a deserved 2-2 draw.

However, a 6-0 scudding at Hampden in the League Cup semi-final in November put paid to that challenge as the confidence drained out of Aberdeen.

Jimmy Thelin’s side then went on an awful run of results which led them to battle at the bottom half of the table.

The moral of the story? The media are getting ahead of themselves wishing for a title challenge from Hearts.

Most Celtic fans want that as well but with just nine games of the season gone, some of the headlines, as Aberdeen found out last season, are a little premature right now.