Revitalised Celtic feed off eagerness in huge title clash as Hearts claim recent run is just 'a wobble'

October 26 was the moment when many truly believed Hearts had become genuine title contenders.

Their 3-1 win over Celtic at Tynecastle had the old stadium in a fervour. Derek McInnes’ men moved eight points clear at the top of the Premiership. The bedraggled champions were unravelling. Rangers were nowhere to be seen. The press box was populated by journalists from England sensing a huge story was brewing. Could 40 years of Old Firm dominance be broken in Scottish football?

Hearts have only won one game since - a 4-0 triumph over Dundee that pushed them nine points clear of Celtic on November 1. But the rest of that month wasn't kind to the Jam Tarts. Now, in early December, both teams are level on 32 points. Only goal difference of three keeps McInnes’ men top. They have not won in their past four outings, losing their unbeaten record to Aberdeen.

Hearts and Celtic, the Premiership's top two, do battle on Sunday in Glasgow. | SNS Group

Celtic and Hearts renew hostilities on Sunday afternoon. This time it’s in Glasgow. So much has changed since their last rendezvous. Hearts’ swagger has diminished, with flair players such as winger Alexandros Kyziridis and Claudio Braga not as dynamic as before. Serious alterations have happened at Celtic. Brendan Rodgers resigned as manager a day after the Tynecastle trauma, Martin O’Neill took interim charge and now the club has a new permanent manager in 48-year-old Frenchman Wilfried Nancy.

Fortunes have changed too. Under O’Neill, Celtic won seven out of eight matches, their only defeat coming in Europe. They’ve procured 18 points in their last six league matches. Sometimes unconvincingly, but in a title race, that doesn’t matter. It was Hearts bagging late goals earlier in the season. Callum McGregor’s stoppage-time winner at St Mirren a fortnight ago felt like a turning point. A day later, Hearts faltered at Pittodrie.

Hearts have always stayed humble amid their incredible start to the season. McInnes always cautioned against “belts in the mouth”. One came on Wednesday night when goalkeeper Alexander Schwolow spilled a routine shot and Kilmarnock’s Bruce Anderson squeezed home a 90th-minute equaliser. The cloak of invincibility was always going to slip - now it’s about rediscovering it.

Hearts having ‘just a wee wobble’

“The expectation comes from the more games you win,” said captain Lawrence Shankland earlier this week when asked if his side were struggling with the pressure of being league leaders. “The excitement from the outside and all the noise around it probably doesn’t help, but at the same time when you have moments like this it feels like everything is a lot worse and the world is coming crashing down. But in reality, if you take a wee step back, it’s not.

“It’s just a wee bit of a wobble. But that pressure is going to be there if that’s where we’re going to be and you need to deal with that. It’s a new position for a lot of boys that have come into the club. We’re still picking up points in this moment, I would rather that than losing games, but we want to get back to winning more often.”

Opponents have dealt with Hearts better in the second round of full fixtures. Kyziridis is often double-marked and defenders know the Greek wide-man likes to cut inside. Injured midfielder Beni Baningime, the percussionist in midfield, is a sore miss. McInnes’ side were a menace from set-pieces but others have become wise to that. The supply to Braga, Shankland and Landry Kabore is being cut off.

Wilfried Nancy takes charge of his first Celtic match against Hearts. | SNS Group

There would be no better time to rediscover old habits than at Celtic Park. This is a curious time to unveil a new manager. Nancy took his first Celtic training session at Lennoxtown on Thursday after being officially appointed 24 hours earlier. After Hearts, he faces Roma in the Europa League and then has the Premier Sports Cup final against St Mirren at Hampden. All in the space of a week. It’s a high-stakes start.

Nancy had never been to Scotland, let alone Celtic Park, until this week. He had planned to visit earlier in his life while in England watching games but the schedule wouldn’t permit. “So eager,” he said of seeing the full stadium and the supporters. “So eager to be there. Really excited. Again, I do this job also for the fans. Because I like to create this kind of synergy, this kind of connection. Really excited to start this journey at home against a good team.”

Nancy is fully aware of what is at stake against Hearts. “It's a big game for everyone,” he said. “I know the context. No problem with that. So control what you can control. Be good at practice. And be good during the game to maximise our chance to win.

“I watch many games. And Hearts are a good team. A really good team, also a physical team. But I think they are not the only team who is like that in terms of physical. And again, we're going to have to play with personality. And we're also going to have to be able to control the game. Not only by possessing the game.

“It's all about controlling the momentum of the game. Because the game is going to be up and down. To avoid the game being like that, we have to get 99 per cent of possession and this is almost impossible. So when we're going to have bad moments, we're going to have to be together. And to reverse the battle of power. It's going to be a dynamic game."

A Celtic victory and the context swings heavily in Nancy’s favour. The champions would move three points clear of Hearts with a game in hand. Momentum is building in the east end of Glasgow, while progress has stalled slightly in the west of Edinburgh. There would be no better time for McInnes’ side to revert back to late October.