Hearts' Zander Clark speaks on shin discomfort, 'top level' Celtic display and Tynecastle role in Scottish Cup clash

Zander Clark labelled the Hearts performance for around 75 minutes during their 3-1 defeat to Celtic “top level” as he appealed to team-mates to take encouragement from it for the Scottish Cup meeting between the sides at the weekend.

Robbie Neilson’s men took an early lead at Celtic Park through Josh Ginnelly and made it difficult for the hosts for large periods. The teams will be back in action at Tynecastle Park on Saturday afternoon with a place in a Hampden Park semi-final at stake.

“The performance for 75 to 80 minutes was top level,” Clark said. “Obviously disappointed to come away with nothing from the game for what we put in. That’s frustrating, but plenty of positives we can take from that performance heading into Saturday.

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"I don’t think there will be many teams that go there and play at that level against Celtic. We have to take the positives from it and while the end result is disappointing it’s a quick turnaround before we go again. We need to focus on what we did well in the game and how we defended for long spells of the game and take that into Saturday now.

“Some of the passages of play we had, coming from the back and getting at them, were top level. We’ve gone and given them a real test already, so at home on Saturday with the crowd right behind us it’s a chance to go and have a real go.”

There was concern over Clark when Daizen Maeda’s knee collided with the goalkeeper's shin as the Japanese forward scored Celtic's equaliser. The 30-year-old said it “was sore at the time” but continued for the remainder of the match.

He is hopeful Hearts fans pack out Tynecastle Park and help push the team towards a significant win.

“It’s a massive stadium at Parkhead, but at Tynecastle the crowd are right on top of you,” Clark said. “It will be packed to the rafters I imagine, so there will be a great atmosphere.

“It’s up to us as players to keep fans onside and keep them going because they will be a massive help for us. It will be a different game, but one we go into full of confidence.”

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