Steven Naismith says Hearts need to draw on the experience of last season’s victory at Celtic Park ahead of tomorrow’s trip to Glasgow.
The boys in maroon are back on league business after the international break and meet Brendan Rodgers’ table-topping side who have enjoyed an unbeaten start to the William Hill Premiership season.
With Hearts still looking for that first win, the boss highlighted the elements of last season’s 2-0 win at Celtic Park that he wants to see repeated when the teams meet tomorrow.
“The short-term aim is that we need to win a game, get off the mark, and get ourselves moving,” he told the media ahead of the game.
“It’s going to be the toughest game we’ve had all season because Celtic have had a fantastic start.
“It’s a tough one, but also a game where I feel we can get a result. Last year when we won there, I don’t think many people gave us a chance. We’ll need to defend like we did in that game last season
“You can’t sit and defend for 85 minutes and then hope to get a goal. We’re going to have to be good in possession, as well as out of possession. They can hurt you in a split-second, they want to play fast and take things quickly.
“I sense a hungry, young, squad. We’re in a low place at the moment. The season hasn’t started how we would have liked it to, but now it’s about how we deal with it and fight through it.
“There have been moments where we haven’t been good enough. Moments where mistakes have cost us. I think we’ve still got a really strong squad that can get into a challenging position.”
Meanwhile, there was positive news from Oriam this morning as the club announced Cammy Devlin has committed his future to Hearts until the summer of 2026.
Naismith spoke of his happiness to get the deal done, highlighting the Aussie midfielder’s development during his time in maroon.
“Since coming in, we’ve asked him to do different things, trying to improve them,” he explained.
“Cammy’s at a good age and an infectious character. You always want to try and keep a core group of players that understand the club.”
Catch the manager’s press conference in full on Hearts TV.
