Derek McInnes: Celtic visit provides “toughest” test for surprise Scottish Premiership leaders Hearts | Football News

Derek McInnes insists his Hearts side are ready for their “toughest” challenge of the season as his league leaders face champions Celtic on Sunday, live on Sky Sports.

The Hearts head coach has led his squad to an unbeaten start in the Scottish Premiership, with the Jambos five points clear at the top of the table after eight games.

The visit of Celtic presents Hearts with an opportunity to extend their early-season lead to eight points. While McInnes has been “encouraged” by their positive start and is happy for supporters to dream of becoming the first club to win the top-flight title outside the Old Firm since 1985, the 54-year-old is not getting carried away.

“For the past few weeks I’ve been asked about this game, even though we had previous games to deal with,” he said ahead of Sunday’s match.

“We feel ready for it. I think Celtic provide the biggest challenge for every team in Scotland. You know you’re going to have to perform to get a result, but we’re going into the game, feeling good about ourselves.

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“We’re looking forward to the game. It’s live on Sky, a sell-out against a team that everybody knows is the toughest challenge. So it’s a test for ourselves to see where we are.

“It’s not my job to keep the fans’ feet on the ground. I’m more than happy for fans and everybody else to talk about it [winning the title]. But the way you balance it off, as you look at the league table, it’s eight games played, so the season is in its infancy.”

Is a summer of change starting to bear fruit?

Hearts’ surge up the table under McInnes – who joined in May – follows last season’s bottom-six finish.

The head coach wasn’t the only change in the off-season, with Brighton owner Tony Bloom investing around £10m in the club for a 29 per cent stake.

Hearts are also in partnership with Jamestown Analytics – the same data firm that has underpinned the success Bloom has enjoyed at Brighton and Belgian side Union Saint-Gilloise.

Bloom raised a few eyebrows when he said the club could finish second this season, and even win the title within the next decade.

To help, McInnes signed 11 players in the summer, and the likes of Claudio Braga, Alex Kyziridis and Stuart Findlay have made immediate impacts with 10 goals and five assists between them so far in the Premiership.

Defensively, things have shored up, too. After conceding six in their first four league games, they have won their last four matches while keeping a clean sheet.

“The players are in a good place,” McInnes added. “A lot of our attacking stats have been well-documented, but four clean sheets going into the game helps us as well, and the fact that we’re enjoying playing at Tynecastle.

“Win, lose or draw [against Celtic], it’s not going to detract from how I feel about our team. I’m really pleased with how we’re performing, what the players are giving us, but obviously, it’s an opportunity, as every game is.

“There’s been a lot documented about the investment and the recruitment but at the end of the day, it’s still down to the players, and the players need to perform.

“We’re encouraged by what we’re getting, but it’s no more than that at the minute and the challenge for us as we go through the campaign is to try and keep defeats to a minimum and try and win as many games as possible and see where it takes us.

“Our fight is with ourselves, and I’m not trying to be clever about that. We are coming from a long way back, last season’s bottom-six team.

“We’ve got to try and meet the expectations of the supporters. At the start of the season, that was to try and make sure we get in those European spots and try and bring cup success and nothing’s really changed for that at the minute, despite the strong start.

“Hopefully, we can keep riding that wave for as long as we can and keep winning games. It’s going to be difficult to maintain the current form, but we’re enjoying it nonetheless.”

Celtic clash will be ‘tight’ at Tynecastle

Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic have been dealing with off-field protests against the board, while on the pitch they have not been at their best.

Last weekend Dundee stunned the champions, as they beat the Hoops at Dens Park for the first time in 37 years, while there have also been dropped points against Hibs and Rangers.

While Hearts have a clear week, Celtic are in Europa League action on Thursday as they host Sturm Graz before making the trip to the capital.

Despite their struggles, McInnes still believes his side will be in for a real test – live on Sky Sports.

“Some games in the Premiership are a lot tougher to win than others,” he said. “I still think there’s not a lot between a lot of the teams, and every game has its challenges, but I think this is the toughest challenge, when you play Celtic.

“I expect the same as I always expect when you play Celtic. Brendan’s teams always have high-quality players and they’re always highly motivated.

“If they do get some bad results, that happens to the best of teams and it normally doesn’t happen too often. So we expect a tough match, regardless of who we’re playing and how we’re playing. We’ve just got to try and concentrate on our own performance.

“I think, ultimately, we’ve got to expect Celtic to turn up and play well and we’ve got to expect that for ourselves. I expect it to be a tight game, there are a lot of good players on show for both teams. But ultimately, it’s a good test for us.

“I feel as if we are ready, I think the supporters are ready, I think Tynecastle will be ready. As I say, it’s just hopefully we can do enough to win the game.”