I won’t be tinker Dan when Celts come here

BY ALAN MARSHALL

HEARTS boss Daniel Stendel insists he won’t change his style for Celtic.

But the 45-year-old admits he needs to try to improve his squad’s fragile mental state after their latest setback.

The German’s dugout debut at Tynecastle ended in a 1-0 loss to St Johnstone on Saturday.

And he vowed to go on the offensive when the champions come calling tomorrow night.

Stendel said: “It will be same style against Celtic but hopefully a better game for us.

“I think the expectation won’t be so high like Saturday and the players can leave the pressure behind more and play more like they can play.

“It’s a different game but we want to get the support from the fans and hopefully we can do that.

“It’s more hard work than I expected but the players give me the feeling they’re ready to work hard. We need to change things

BY MICHAEL GANNON NIR BITTON was so worried about his future at Celtic he didn’t just fear Parkhead chiefs were going to order him a taxi – he thought he might end up driving one.

The Israeli international last night penned a new Hoops deal until summer 2023 but admitted he thought he was going down an entirely different road a couple of years ago.

Bitton has battled back from a year out with a careerthreatening knee injury and there were times he was even considering an entirely new job away from football.

That injury hell just makes securing his long-term future even sweeter. Bitton said: “When I look back to 14 months ago it was a dark time and I thought I might need to finish playing football, which was difficult for me. But now I’m playing and winning trophies again – I’m happy.

“What would I have done? F*** knows! I don’t know – I could be a taxi driver maybe. I’d find something but it’s always difficult if you ask any athlete what they would do if their career was over in their 20s.

“It will be difficult for me when I am 35 never mind at 28.