During the week, Robbie Neilson was at pains to stress that his Hearts side cannot be considered genuine title contenders, and said he would be having a word with his over-exuberant full-back Juwon Oshaniwa to tone down his rhetoric in that regard.
Neilson is not alone in suggesting that sides like his own and Aberdeen cannot seriously mount a credible challenge to Celtic’s crown over the season, despite their 100% records so far, given the riches at the disposal of Ronny Deila.
The latest challenge to face Hearts is a tricky-looking trip to New Douglas Park today to take on a Hamilton side that have won their last two league matches with plenty to spare against Dundee United and Inverness, albeit they had a disappointing League Cup exit at the hands of Raith Rovers during the week.
Hamilton improved greatly in the second-half of that game with the introduction of regulars like Dougie Imrie, and whilst the experienced wide-man is determined to dent Hearts’ momentum this afternoon, he says that he has seen enough of today’s opponents to disagree with Neilson’s appraisal of their title credentials.
“You never know with the way they have started,” he said.
“They’ve got a great opportunity to go and challenge. Aberdeen did it last season, going so far before a few injuries curtailed that late on in the season.
“If these teams can keep their squads fit for the majority of the season then I think they could run Celtic close.
“Celtic have quality running through their team though, so they can afford to drop and rest players because they have internationals to come in and replace them.
“It’s going to be difficult for any team trying to challenge them but with the start Hearts have had they have a chance.
“Celtic have dropped points already, so if Hearts can sustain their form then they can make it tough for them.
“Hearts were always going to be good and they have a knack for attracting decent players to the club.
“They should be in the league anyway, so they’re just back where they belong.
“They’ll want to show they deserve to be here and I think they do, along with a few other teams. “They’re like us last season. We might have lost our first game in the league, but then we went eleven unbeaten. They’re obviously enjoying their football and they’re playing well.
“It’ll be tough for us but it’ll be tough for them as well, coming to play on our artificial surface.
“It’s going to be a good game and we’ll give them the respect they are due, because it’s not easy to win five games like that, but we’ll be going out to win the game.”
After a stuttering start to the campaign, Accies have won their last two league outings against Dundee United and Inverness.
The challenge now for Hamilton is to maintain that level of consistency as they look to carry on confounding the doubters.
“I think we can sustain it over the full season this time,” he said.
“It’s going to be tough on Saturday because Hearts are flying at the moment. They’ve gone five wins in a row so they’ll be a good test for us but we hope to be the same for them.”
Hearts boss Neilson reciprocated Imrie’s fulsome praise of his side, and knows that today’s game may be his side’s toughest test yet since returning to the Premiership.
“They’re a good team, they press really aggressively and they work hard as a unit,” he said.
“They make it really difficult to play football.
“I watched them against Dundee United and a couple of their goals resulted from them breaking up play in the middle of the park. So it’s important we recognise that and try to combat it.”
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