Celtic v Hearts: Are Hearts tough enough mentally, wonders Lennon

THE gauntlet has been thrown down ahead of Wednesday's match at Parkhead. The question which is intriguing most of Scottish football is whether Jim Jefferies' men will pick it up.

Hearts stood firm in the face of Rangers' assualt on their title pretentions for long spells yesterday but now they have their second Old Firm test in five days.

Having been on the kind of unbeaten run few other than the Old Firm can usually boast, Hearts have moved 13 points clear in third place and now have the luxury of looking above them rather than below and remain poised for a genuine crack at intruding on the Glasgow duopoly. Those aspirations threatened to take a hit yesterday but a combination of resolute defending and a Ryan Stevenson goal took them to within two points of Rangers.

Wednesday affords them the opportunity to close the gap on Celtic too and give credence to their place in the title chase.

Neil Lennon is under no illusions that Hearts are capable of it, but having seen others flex their muscles before ultimately proving they lack either the stamina or the stomach for the fight, he says the capital team have to show they have the mental steel needed.

"Nobody is running away with it at the minute, but Hearts have done exceptionally well to stay in there," said Lennon, who felt that refereeing decisions contributed to Hearts emerging on top the last time they played. Joe Ledley was sent off, the Celtic manager was banished to the stand and the ill-feeling generated with officialdom continues to fester.

Despite that, Lennon acknowledges the merits of Hearts' current squad. "I think it would be folly to ignore them. Their form has been pretty consistent, even at Kilmarnock the other night, a difficult place to go, they were a goal down and turned the game around so that showed character. I think they've got a good team spirit, they're well-organised and they're scoring goals, as well. They've put together a concerted run of form and been very consistent. They look a pretty strong team."

But as the pressure to maintain the winning form begins to increase, the test for a team unused to being involved in those battles is whether they have the stomach for the fight. Asked how much mental strength comes into determining the destination of the title Lennon says: "A huge amount, I think. Some of these guys haven't been in that position before and it will be more mentally challenging for them than physically, whether they can sustain it. That's the key to putting any sort of championship-winning run together. Wednesday is key for both teams. I've been over the course with these games, but even some of the players in here (at Celtic] haven't. It will be interesting to see what kind of effect the Rangers result has on Hearts.

"We're used to the expectation level. It's different and the more publicity Hearts get, that's when the pressure starts to tell and whether they can sustain it through that and whether the squad has the quality to sustain it as well we don't know. But you have to take your hat off to them as they've been excellent."