Head coach Neil Critchley believes his Hearts players are refreshed and ready to go again following the international break.
Saturday’s trip to Celtic Park is the start of a crucial period for the men in maroon, who are looking to ensure a top six spot prior to the split.
Speaking to the media at the pre-match press conference, Critchley said:
“They're vitally important games; I think the break has just given everyone a chance to breathe a little bit. We want to think there's only seven or eight weeks left, it'll fly by and we're ready to attack the last period of the season. Nine, hopefully ten games left maximum, that's it.
“So, we're ready to go, we're fresh, we're positive and we're looking forward to a really exciting end to the season. We expect a really tough game, it's the toughest game you can face obviously.
“I think that [Rangers] was their first home defeat this season and they're the best team in the league obviously, because you look at their record and the points that they've taken and how many points they've cleared.
"They're an outstanding team, but we just have to go with who we are, stick to our principles, attack the game as best as we can in the manner in which we want to and see if we can create some problems. It's a great challenge and I'm really looking forward to it.
“It would be foolish of us to think that we're going to go there and dominate the ball, but In the moments that we want to try and play, we've got to be brave enough to play our football.
“We've got to try and carry a threat, and we want to try and be aggressive without the ball. You need a top performance from everyone. You need everyone to step up to the challenge. You need everyone to perform, whether that's starting or coming off the bench. You need to go with the right mentality.
“You know it's going to be tough; you know at times in the game you're going to have to suffer. You have to be good at suffering. You have to believe in what you're doing; the mentality is really crucial.
“You need to be clinical when you create the moments that hopefully you can create by how you play the game.”
Regarding team news, the head coach is able to welcome back Cammy Devlin and Jamie McCart, but suffered a fresh injury blow with Gerald Taylor picking up a knee injury while on international duty with Costa Rica.
“Unfortunately, Gerald got injured on international duty with his knee. He arrived back yesterday, we've assessed him today, looks like he'll be out for a few weeks, so that's unfortunate news for him and for us. Everyone else, some players are getting closer because they've trained this week, so it was nice to have Frankie Kent, Stephen Kingsley and Craig Halkett back on the pitch at the same time.
“Their presence on the pitch was welcomed as they're experienced players. Jamie McCart has trained the last couple of days. So, a little bit mixed if you like with Gerald missing, but the others are stepping up their training and have trained this week, which has been really positive.
“Cammy is fine. He played here just before we had a little break. He played 90 minutes, he's been training. Cam's fine, he's good to go.”
You can watch Neil’s press conference in full on Hearts TV.
