Neil Critchley believes Hearts are in a good place upon their return from the international break, as the men in maroon gear up for tomorrow’s visit of Celtic.
Brendan Rodgers’ side are in Gorgie as the William Hill Premiership resumes business, with the boss pleased at the work done and rest gained whilst dometic football took a back seat.
After six weeks in the role of Head Coach, Neil is keen to press ahead as the men in maroon look to get more valuable points on the board.
“It was quite strange really. I was saying to the staff this morning, I think this is just coming to the end of the sixth week and it seems like it's flown by, but it seems longer than six weeks,” he told the media ahead of the game.
“We've had so many games, we had a bounce game as well, we've had an international break, we've had a lot going on, so it was nice to have a period of rest where you could reflect and evaluate what you've done and look at the performances and how we're going to improve. With the focus on a very busy, challenging, hectic schedule to come up in front of us again, it's an exciting period and it starts with the toughest game you can face, which is Celtic.”
With the Glasgow side currently sitting top of the table, there’s no doubts in Neil’s mind at the scale of the task tomorrow when the side’s meet on Saturday evening.
“They're a fantastic team, there's no doubt they're the best team in Scottish football at this moment in time, they're in a really good moment,” he added.
“You look at the facts, they're unbeaten this season, I think they've only conceded three goals in the league and one of them was a penalty, so we know the challenge that's right in front of us.
But we can take confidence in some of our recent performances and if we're slightly better in certain areas of the pitch then we know we can cause Celtic problems.”
Finally, the boss was also able to provide the latest injury news from the team.
“Yutaro has a chance, he's trained this week, not fully trained, but has trained enough to be considered for selection,” said Neil.
“Calem is still going to be a good few weeks away yet, he's obviously not trained since March time, I think it is, so he just needs a period to gain more confidence in himself.
Shanks, Craig, Kye, they've all returned, so everyone else is fit and able and willing and ready to go.”
