THE looming League Cup semi-final between Celtic and Rangers early next year means any opportunity to compare and contrast the two will always be quickly seized upon.
By a quirk of the football calendar, Ronny Deila's side head to Tynecastle this weekend to take on Hearts just eight days after their rivals from across the city travelled to the same venue, only to end up on the wrong side of a 2-0 defeat that put a massive dent in their SPFL Championship aspirations.
As a Premiership club, it would serve as rather more of a shock should Celtic end up on the wrong end of a similar reverse when the teams meet in the William Hill Scottish Cup, but Hearts' sparkling start to the season means they will be expected to at least push their visitors all the way. The tie falls almost a year to the day since Celtic went to Tynecastle at the same stage of the same competition and racked up a 7-0 win. Hearts, though, have undergone a dramatic metamorphosis since then, emerging into new ownership from administration and having resculpted their squad in the summer. Tosh McKinlay, the defender who turned out for both clubs, thinks Celtic will find it tough.
"It's the tie of the round," he said. "It's always been a good fixture and the cup gives it extra spice. Hearts turned Rangers over last week - can they do the double? They'll be well up for it. To be honest, I'm not surprised by how well they've started in the league. I was more surprised that they didn't keep Gary Locke as manager because people forget how strongly they finished last season - five wins and two draws from their last eight games.
"Gary was building for the Championship by giving young boys a chance but, with the change of ownership came a change of manager, which is fair enough.
"It's their money so they can do that and Robbie Neilson has been excellent. He's benefited from the experience that Gary gave those youngsters.
"They've grown from that, grown in confidence, and taken that into this campaign. I saw them when they were turned over at Parkhead in the League Cup [earlier this season] but Tynecastle will be packed and they'll think they can win it. I'm looking forward to an old-fashioned cup tie.
"Hearts could possible give Celtic a bigger challenge than some of the teams at the foot of the Premiership. Are Hearts any worse than the bottom four clubs? I wouldn't have thought so. They're playing really well and they have momentum.
"Celtic beat them 7-0 there last season in this competition but they'll have learned from that. As a footballer, you need to find a way to benefit from those experiences and make sure those mistakes don't happen again.
"That was a very heavy defeat but that can help you grow up. I remember, starting out at Dundee, taking some real doings from Celtic and that great Aberdeen side and I took positives from those setbacks."
Deila has set his sights on a domestic clean sweep in his first season in charge. No Celtic manager has won a treble in 13 years but, despite both Rangers and Hearts now standing in their way this season, McKinlay thinks it is not an unreasonable target.
"Celtic should, realistically, be looking at winning the treble every season. I know their cup record in recent years has been poor but that's what they should be doing.
"They haven't done it since Martin O'Neill's first season as manager in 2001. But it's in the DNA of that club to want to win every competition it enters.
"With Rangers not being in the league you would expect Celtic to win it by a country mile. In cup competitions you would expect the same given the confidence they've gained from winning the league. You would expect them to go in to every cup competition looking to win it."
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