Hearts return to Celtic Park aiming to show title credentials
Hearts head back to Celtic Park on Sunday for the first time since last season's title collapse, with Wouter Vrancken urging his reshaped side to look forward rather than dwell on May's heartbreak.
Hearts return to Celtic Park on Sunday (15:00 BST) for the first time since their title challenge was crushed in a devastating 11-minute spell last May, when their players were bundled onto the team bus still in strips and boots after watching the dream die. The memory lingers for the roughly 800 visiting fans who witnessed it and the thousands following from Gorgie, but Wouter Vrancken's side arrives refreshed and reshaped for the Scottish Premiership encounter.
Vrancken has told his players not to live in the past, arguing that dwelling on negative energy is counterproductive and that the "fire" must burn in every game, particularly the biggest ones. Oisin McEntee, a member of last season's squad, said the trip to Glasgow is not a revenge mission. The Belgian coach's early tenure was challenging, but last weekend's 5-0 win over St Mirren extended a run of five victories and a draw in seven matches, though Hearts have won only two of their past 11 away league games without keeping a clean sheet.
Celtic enter the fixture with their own backdrop of discontent. A 4-1 Europa League defeat at Benfica was their fourth loss in five games, and supporters are growing restless with both the board and the football on show. Martin O'Neill nevertheless took encouragement from his players' improved second-half response in Lisbon. Domestically, Celtic have won 14 of their past 15 league games, scoring two or more in 11 of them, and have won 26 of their past 29 home league meetings with Hearts, though they lost two of the last six.
Hearts took seven points from four league games against Celtic last season, the most by any non-Old Firm side in a single campaign since 1999-00. Influential Hearts investor Tony Bloom this week restated his title ambition for the Tynecastle club, and Sunday's fixture should indicate whether that is realistic this season. O'Neill expects a contest every bit as tough as May's decider and believes Hearts are genuine title challengers despite two league defeats.
Image: SNS / BBC Sport
