Steven Naismith shares how Hearts will approach Celtic clash as Neil Critchley given warning

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Heart of Midlothian await this weekend for Celtic in a clash where sparks are likely to fly at Tynecastle on Saturday night.

Some say football is meant to be played under the lights, so there is justifiably a lot of anticipation for both sides heading into this one despite their respective league positions.

Celtic sit top of the pile in the Scottish Premiership after a run of ten victories and a draw in the top-flight. Meanwhile, Hearts have won just one out of their 13 excursions and recently appointed Neil Critchley to replace Steven Naismith amid their poor start.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
1	CelticCeltic	11	10	1	0	31	3	28	31
2	AberdeenAberdeen	11	10	1	0	24	10	14	31
3	RangersRangers	11	7	1	3	16	8	8	22
4	Dundee UtdDundee Utd	12	5	4	3	18	13	5	19

Nevertheless, the former Liverpool coach has lost just two of his five league games in charge of the Edinburgh-based outfit.

With Brendan Rodgers keen to put some daylight between the Bhoys and Aberdeen at the summit, Naismith has signalled how he thinks his old side will approach their encounter against the champions.

Steven Naismith on Hearts’ approach and serves Celtic warning

Speaking to Sky Sports, Naismith expects Hearts to be an energetic prospect in front of their home supporters, but warned Critchley and company that Celtic can ‘kill’ any team in the league at a moment’s notice.

He explained: “Knowing Hearts and the club well, they’ll expect a performance and expect to be able to get something from it. They’ll see it as an opportunity.

“Obviously, their start to the season hasn’t been great. But I do think the form had lifted. It does look that there’s an energy in the team. It is going to be difficult with the quality of Celtic, I think from my own experiences in those games after the internationals, there can be a dip in with the performance levels at clubs just from the break and the travel.

“For Hearts, they’ve got to use that as much as they can, and I think Celtic will want to slip into that routine that they’ve been in.”

Later, he added: “In those games especially, you don’t get those opportunities as you maybe do in other games. I always said you need to defend very well, but you need to be comfortable having the ball. In the game against Rangers, Hearts were comfortable in possession, which gives you a bit of momentum and lets you try to dictate the game.

“That will be important, the fans will want an energetic performance and that’ll be expected as well, but the one team in the league that can kill you at any moment is Celtic.”

Celtic right to take confidence heading into Hearts clash

Another international break has ended, and Celtic will have to navigate the challenge of re-introducing their winning momentum after a successful block of matches before club football came to a halt.

Last time out, the Bhoys recorded a resilient win over Kilmarnock to prolong their winning streak, warding off advances from the home outfit as their clinical edge proved the difference in Ayrshire.

Although the triumph wasn’t easy on the eye, Celtic supporters will value three points by any means necessary to tee up a pulsating run of fixtures encompassing all competitions in the coming weeks.