Derek McInnes: Celtic visit poses 'toughest' test for surprise Scottish Premiership leaders Hearts | Football news

Derek McInnes insists his Hearts side are ready for the “toughest” challenge of the season as their league leaders take on champions Celtic on Sunday, live on Sky Sports.

The Hearts head coach has led his side to an unbeaten start in the Scottish Premiership, with the Jambos five points clear at the top of the table after eight games.

The visit of Celtic presents Hearts with the opportunity to extend their early season lead to eight points. While McInnes was “encouraged” by their positive start and is delighted that his supporters dream of becoming the first club to win the top flight title outside the Old Firm since 1985, the 54-year-old is not getting carried away.

“In recent weeks I have been asked about this game, even though we had previous games to deal with,” he said ahead of Sunday's game.

“We feel ready. I think Celtic pose the biggest challenge for any team in Scotland. You know you'll have to perform to get a result, but we're going into the game feeling good about ourselves.

Sunday October 26 at 11:00 a.m.

Kick-off at 12:00 p.m.

“We're looking forward to the game. It's live on Sky, a sold-out game against a team that everyone knows is the toughest challenge. So it's a test for ourselves to see where we are.

“It's not my job to keep the fans grounded. I'm more than happy for the fans and everyone to talk about it. [winning the title]. But if you compare things, if you look at the standings, that's eight games played, so the season is in its early stages. »

Is a summer of change starting to bear fruit?

Hearts' rise under McInnes – who joined the team in May – follows last season's bottom-six finish.

The head coach wasn't the only change during the offseason, with Brighton owner Tony Bloom changing. investing around £10m in the club for a 29 per cent stake.

Hearts are also partnered with Jamestown Analytics – the same data company that has underpinned Bloom's success at Brighton and Belgian side Union Saint-Gilloise.

Bloom raised a few eyebrows when he said the club could finish second this season and even win the title within the next decade..

To help, McInnes brought in 11 players this summer, and Claudio Braga, Alex Kyziridis and Stuart Findlay have made an immediate impact with 10 goals and five assists between them so far in the Premiership.

Defensively, things have also strengthened. After conceding six in their first four league matches, they have won their last four matches while keeping a clean sheet.

“The players are in a good place,” added McInnes. “A lot of our attacking statistics have been well documented, but four clean sheets before the game also help us, as well as the fact that we enjoy playing at Tynecastle.

“Win, lose or draw [against Celtic]It’s not going to hurt how I feel about our team. I'm really happy with our performance, with what the players are giving us, but obviously it's an opportunity, like every match.

“There has been a lot of documentation about investment and recruitment, but ultimately it always comes down to the players, and the players have to perform.

“We're encouraged by what we're getting, but it's nothing more than that at the moment and the challenge for us throughout the campaign is to try and keep the defeats to a minimum and try to win as many games as possible and see where that takes us.

“Our fight is against ourselves, and I'm not trying to be smart about it. We've come a long way, we were the bottom six last season.

“We have to try and live up to the fans' expectations. At the start of the season it was about trying to make sure we get to those European places and try to win the cup and nothing has really changed at the moment, despite a good start.

“I hope we can keep riding this wave for as long as possible and keep winning games. It's going to be difficult to maintain the current form, but we're enjoying it nonetheless.”

Celtic clash will be 'tight' at Tynecastle

Brendan Rodgers' Celtic have faced off-field protests against the board, while on the pitch they have not been at their best.

Last weekend, Dundee stunned the champions by beating the Hoops at Dens Park for the first time in 37 years, while points also dropped against Hibs and Rangers.

While Hearts have a clear week, Celtic are in Europa League action on Thursday as they host Sturm Graz before traveling to the capital.

Despite their struggles, McInnes still believes his side will face a real test – live on Sky Sports.

“Some Premiership games are much harder to win than others,” he said. “I always think there's not much between a lot of teams and every game has its challenges, but I think that's the toughest challenge when you play Celtic.

“I expect the same thing as when you play Celtic. Brendan's teams always have high quality players and they are always very motivated.

“If they get bad results, it happens to the best teams and it usually doesn't happen too often. So we expect a tough game no matter who we play and how we play. We just have to try to focus on our own performance.

“I think ultimately we have to expect Celtic to turn up and play well and we have to expect that for ourselves. I expect it to be a close game, there are a lot of good players there for both teams. But ultimately it's a good test for us.

“I feel like we're ready, I think the fans are ready, I think Tynecastle will be ready. Like I said, I just hope we can do enough to win the game.”