Hearts face ‘toughest challenge’ at Celtic Park, says Derek McInnes

McInnes’ Aberdeen side finished runners-up to Celtic in Scottish Cup and League Cup finals and four times in the Premiership. At Kilmarnock, McInnes enjoyed two wins over Brendan Rodgers’ side in season 2023-24, including in the Premier Sports Cup.

“When you play Celtic, you’ve got to be on point and you’re going to have to play really well to get anything from the game,” McInnes explained.

“I’ve played against Brendan’s teams often enough and he’s such a top manager, top operator. Celtic are littered with top players. They spend the money on the squad that they’ve got because of the demand and they’re such a good, high-level player.

“So, we’ve got our work cut out on Sunday to get a result. All I’m focusing on is us trying to be the toughest opponent for them and make sure our performance gives us a chance. I can’t be dependent on any opponent, whether they’re poor or strong.

“We believe there’s a performance in us that can win the game.”

Victory would take Hearts eight points clear, which McInnes said “would be good shooting from us”.

“We could also only be two points clear. We understand that we’re only eight or nine games in after Sunday. If we can win, I think it’ll be brilliant for confidence and belief. If we don’t win, it’s not going to stop us and we’ll just keep trying to believe and be confident with our work going forward.

“There’s a lot of people who would like to see some sort of opposition to the natural order with the Old Firm challenging for titles. There’s also a lot of people who are a bit envious of us at the minute and would love to see us fail and slap down to earth.”