CRAIG Levein is wary of a wounded Celtic after Hearts left the champions’ pride in tatters at Tynecastle.
Hearts ended a historic 69-game domestic unbeaten run in scintillating style in December, with goals from Harry Cochrane, Kyle Lafferty and a David Milinkovic double securing a stunning 4-0 win over Brendan
Rodgers’ Invincibles.
The Glasgow giants will have a golden opportunity to make amends on Tuesday night when Hearts visit Parkhead, and Levein is acutely aware that their hosts will be hungry to right a few wrongs.
“They do have personal pride,” said the Hearts boss. “You don’t put together a run like they did without having determination and pride in what you are doing, so I expect a more determined Celtic than might have been the case the last time. I expect them to be even more up for it.
“On that day everything just went perfectly for us. We got some breaks, they missed some chances and we got goals at critical moments. It was a great day for us.
“It was important. Confidence is a much sought-after thing and if we could go down the shops and buy a bottle then I think we all would. You get confidence from experiencing something, feeling good about yourself and then you do it again and feel better.
“But the set of circumstances won’t be replicated because, first and foremost, we are not at home and we might have to play in a different way, depending on personnel.”
Smiling, he added: “I think it’s better if we don’t talk too much about that game as it will probably just fire them up even more! There is an element of anticipation about going to play Celtic Park. It is a great venue, there will be a big crowd so I’m sure the players will have the same thoughts as me. It’s an exciting day.”
While Levein is under no illusions regarding the size of the task Hearts face – Celtic have not lost a home match in the league since a 2-1 reverse against Motherwell in December 2015 – he firmly believes his club have assembled a squad with the mental strength and quality to handle the trip.
The shock capture of former Rangers and Everton star Steven Naismith on loan from Norwich adds to a spine which already included rock-solid goalkeeper Jon McLaughlin, Scotland internationalists Don Cowie and
Christophe Berra and experienced striker Lafferty.
Balance and much needed width have also been attained by the arrivals of Demetri Mitchell on loan from Manchester United and winger Danny Amankwaa, released by FC Copenhagen.
“We have added some new players but one of them is Steven, who I know from previous and I know his
character,” Levein said. “Not in my wildest dreams could I have imagined we would get him.
“The important thing for me is having players on the pitch who lead by example and talk and cajole and we are fortunate that we have a number of those. The more of those we have the better it is.
“Demi [Mitchell] adds balance to the left-hand side of the park, while Danny has brought real speed to the front line on either side – these are the things that had been missing.”
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