Hearts defender Blazej Augustyn insists they can win the league - and it would only be a surprise to Celtic and not his team-mates.

Hearts missed the chance to cut the gap on the Ladbrokes Premiership leaders to four points last Saturday when they drew at home to Dundee, a result which prompted head coach Robbie Neilson to claim his team did not have the consistency to mount a title challenge.

Neilson continues to target a top-six place first and foremost but Augustyn is happy to proclaim his lofty targets in public.

And he has taken heart from Celtic's recent difficulties, which continued with a 2-1 home defeat to Ajax on Thursday that saw them crash out of the Europa League.

The Polish defender said: "We can see Celtic are not as good as a few years ago and I don't think they have a team like they had before.

"But we have to step on the floor and work. That's why Robbie gets us to work hard and we just follow his way.

"I think we are good enough to win or stay close to Celtic. We win against good teams and we play good football. We can do it."

When it was put to him that a Hearts title would be a major surprise, the summer signing said: "We don't care about that. We just want to win and that would be their problem, not our problem.

"Maybe it will be a big surprise to them but not for us because we are working for that."

Augustyn knows Hearts will have to improve on their second-half display against Dundee when they visit Motherwell on Saturday.

"If Celtic can draw against Kilmarnock, then we can draw against Dundee, but we know that is not the way to find excuses," he said.

"We know that the draw disappointed our fans and us as well, but it happens. We controlled the game in the first half but the second half was bad. We were slow on the ball. We should play quicker and be more positive.

"Robbie says every day that the period from December to January, we can win the league or fight for the top three, but we have to be focused on the games and we can't draw games like that at home."

Hearts will wear their Foundation of Hearts tribute strip for the first time at Fir Park, the top featuring the names of more than 8,000 members whose financial pledges helped them exit administration.

Neilson said: "It's going to be a good weekend, we are wearing our new strip so it's quite an event. It's been a great period for us recently and hopefully we can go and put on a show.

"It's absolutely phenomenal the backing we have had from the fans. We have come through a really difficult period and it's the fans' club, and eventually they will own it.

"It will be a great day for the club, 8,000 names on a strip. We just hope we can give the fans a good performance and three points.

"The players all know the situation here. When they come in we explain it to them, the backing the fans give, the Foundation of Hearts and the pledges. The players understand they have to give energy back to them."

Meanwhile, Neilson is confident that Belgian midfielder Arnaud Djoum will extend his stay at Tynecastle beyond January after netting three goals in his first six matches.

"We are pretty close," Neilson said.

"Everything has been agreed and we just need to sign the paperwork. We are hoping for an 18-month (contract) but it's not signed yet. You know what football is like, you never know until it's done and dusted but he's happy and we are happy."