INVINCIBLE? THEY’RE NOT MAN CITY
INVINCIBLE? Undeniable, surely. It’s unimaginable that anyone should question Celtic’s untouchable status over 69 domestic fixtures.
Or so you might think. Step forward Jon McLaughlin, Heart of Midlothian goalkeeper.
Pouncing upon the five draws amid the wins racked up by Brendan Rodgers’ men, the well-travelled No1 is encouraged by the ability of Motherwell, Kilmarnock, St Johnstone and Hibs (twice) to run the champions uncomfortably close.
This season, if not last, Celtic have not been quite so all-conquering. Which arguably makes their five-point lead at the top of the Premiership table, plus their game in hand over their nearest challengers, all the more impressive.
Comparing and contrasting with Manchester City’s record-breaking 15 straight Premier League victories, McLaughlin remains impressed by how tomorrow’s visitors to Tynecastle have managed to grind out results.
Yet he noted: ‘Celtic have been drawing quite a few games during this run. It’s not like Man City, where they are putting everyone to the sword with three or four (goals) every week.
‘There have been tight games and ones where Celtic have almost thrown it away, ones where they have had to claw it back real late.
‘So there is certainly not the invincible tag that there maybe is with some other teams.’
Now, it’s important to add a little context to tomorrow’s meeting. Since beating Celtic in the 2012 Scottish Cup semi-final, various incarnations of Hearts XIs have been given 20 cracks at repeating that feat.
They have managed just two draws — and 18 defeats. That qualifies as invincible by pretty much any standard.
Still, Hearts are emboldened by their recent upswing in form — not to mention the belief that Rodgers’ side just might begin to feel the pressure of maintaining their unbeatable status.
‘They’ve got it at the back of their minds that any little mistake from any individual — or collectively — will culminate in ending not just one result, it’s 70 results,’ argued McLaughlin.
‘It starts to build for them and becomes more difficult. If you can be the team to beat them, it’s a huge feather in your cap — and we would enjoy that.
‘Hopefully, we can make it a hostile atmosphere for them. At Tynecastle, we have been the more dominant team and I have been underworked in a lot of our games.
‘The pressure is on them, not us. The expectations from everyone is that Celtic are going to be the dominant team.
‘They have this run going. When they are playing in Scotland, they don’t lose.
‘But we have now got a couple of wins under our belt to at least take a bit of pressure off ourselves. We are happy with our performances. ‘Defensively, we have done well over the past five or six games. It’s up to us to make it as uncomfortable a day as we can for Celtic. ‘We are not going to have a lot of possession for large parts of the game, so it’s more a case of trying to make it as frustrating a day as possible for them. ‘A lot of teams have done that this season. If you look at the sides who have managed to get draws against Celtic — even come close to beating them — it’s when the opposition have really frustrated them and made it difficult for them. ‘That is our focus. Anything we get out of the game against them will be bonus, really, in the big picture. So there is not a lot of pressure on us.’ In a Hearts side seriously undermanned through injury and suspension, especially in the defensive area, one player will bear a bigger burden than the rest of his team-mates. Home skipper Christophe Berra, architect of a clean sheet and also scorer at the other end in the 2-0 win against Dundee in midweek, is going to be a key player. McLaughlin said he would find it hard to think of a better defender in Scotland at the moment. He insisted: ‘You saw the other night, it is virtually impossible to beat Christophe in the air — he is so dominant with any ball aerially, from set-pieces and from open play. ‘He is a fantastic player to have there, especially when a lot of teams like to play with just one up front, and have players play off him. ‘We have someone like Christophe, who can take care of that one man up front and they have to use him as their target. ‘It means there is very little for teams to play off and that gives us a solid foundation to play around him. ‘Christophe has that full international quality. ‘If you do have players like that, players who can have an impact and contribute, then it is fantastic.’