Hearts’ head coach, Neil Critchley, has told his men to be brave when they square-up to William Hill Premiership pace-setters Celtic at Parkhead on Saturday (kick-off 15.00).
The Bhoys are the best team in the league, according to the Jambos boss, who is visiting Parkhead for the first time in his career.
Of course, Celtic will not want to lose back-to-back games on their own pitch after being edged by arch rivals Rangers in the recent Old Firm clash.
But Critchley (pictured by Ian Jacobs) told the media at the pre-match briefing at The Oriam that he believes the Jambos are in good form.
He wants his squad to attack the game and added: “It is a challenge for us, and an exciting one.”
Gerald Taylor misses out after being injured playing for Costa Rica in midweek and the knee injury could keep the on-loan defender out for the rest of the season.
He went off after nearly 30 minutes of Costa Rica’s CONCACAF Gold Cup tie with Belize on Tuesday and Hearts are trying to get as much information as they can from the Costa Rica camp about the extent of the injury.
That leaves the Men in Maroon with only one recognised right-back, Adam Forrester, and Critchley and his back-room staff are assessing their options and could draft another player into that role for the trip along the M8.
Aussie midfielder, Cammy Devlin, is available again after being sidelined with concussion following Hearts’ Scottish Gas, Scottish Cup win at St Mirren and he played 90 minutes in a closed-door match last week.
Central defender, Jamie McCart, is being monitored over the next 24-hours, but he has been taking a full part in training at Riccarton while Frankie Kent, Craig Halkett and Stephen Kingsley have been training this week and they will form part of the assessment before a team is names.
Celtic are likely to give back-up goalkeeper, Viljami Sinisalo, his league debut due to a shoulder injury sustained by No 1 Kasper Schmeichel while playing for Denmark in midweek.
Critchley knows Sinisalo having worked with the player during his spell as an assistant to Stephen Gerard at Aston Villa and the former Blackpool boss said: “He is a very good goalkeeper but we want to cause them problems.”
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