Peter Grant says Celtic man was ‘awful’ against Hearts, but Derek McInnes was focused on another

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Wilfried Nancy said that he ‘learned a lot’ from his first Celtic game against Hearts.

He’ll have learned a lot since, given the media reaction to Nancy using a tactics board. But mostly, he’ll have learned about his squad.

Hearts won the game 2-1, despite never really working too hard during the encounter. Celtic’s positive play in the first-half fizzled away in the second, allowing the league leaders to see it out.

Nancy instantly implemented a back-three formation, moving Sebastian Tounekti and Yang Hyun-Jun from forward positions to new wing-back roles.

But for Peter Grant, two other players were bigger problems against Hearts – for different reasons.

Peter Grant on two Celtic players’ role in Hearts defeat

Sunday wasn’t the first time that Derek McInnes was a thorn in Celtic’s side.

Hearts had been going through a slight downturn in form, but we all know that they enjoy raising their game against the Celts.

READ MORE: Paul Lambert takes aim at ‘ridiculous’ Wilfried Nancy reaction in fierce defence of Celtic boss

And on the Go Radio Football Show, Grant felt that McInnes noticeably targeted one Celtic man with his tactics – and another was simply ‘awful’.

He said: “It looked to me – and I’m just talking as a layman now – it looked as if, what [Nancy] wanted in his head, and what he wanted to happen, didn’t happen.

“And that’s why they kept getting the tactics board out, and they keep shouting on Callum McGregor, because the players did look lost.

“Hatate was awful, where he’s been brilliant in the last few weeks. All of a sudden, his own players were in his area.

“Auston Trusty had 30-40 yards in front of him, so took touch, touch, touch.

“So Derek’s went: ‘We’ll leave Trusty on it.’ He’s right footed, he’s on the left hand side, he’s went for three diagonals and he’s not hit one yet. He doesn’t pass between the lines.

“So for me, Derek tactically went, ‘we’ll leave him on it.’ That’s not being disrespectful to Trusty, because I’ve have done the exact same thing. With that left footer on the right hand side.

“All these wee things become tactics, and that’s why it became very, very comfortable for Hearts.”

Celtic’s performance vs Hearts

Daizen Maeda ‘lashed out’ at a Hearts defender at one point in the second half, having cut a frustrated figure amid a lack of service after the break.

This was a sign that the Celts’ front three was very imperfect on the day, with Benjamin Nygren and Reo Hatate in slightly different roles.

Yang Hyun-Jun’s performance was a positive however, whilst Kieran Tierney deserved a goal for being one of the team’s only real contributors in the second period.

But with the likes of Luke McCowan, Kelechi Iheanacho and Anthony Ralston readily able to come in for the Roma clash, don’t be surprised if Nancy rings in the changes.