What a difference a few weeks make in football.
Hearts had gone into the new season having strolled to a third-place finish and with the promise of consolidation as Steven Naismith made his moves to strengthen the squad early in the summer transfer market.
In contrast, champions Celtic spent much of the summer being berated by their fans for their lack of activity while waiting for the almost inevitable departure of star midfielder Matt O’Riley.
However, a late flurry of activity on the back of a record sale to Brighton & Hove Albion and Hearts on Saturday face the prospect of facing a side seeking their sixth consecutive win since the start of the season while poised to hand a first start to their own record signing.
As Arne Engels quickly followed his arrival from Augsburg by celebrating his 21st birthday with a first cap for Belgium, Naismith was having to admit that his own summer arrivals needed more time to adapt to the pressure of playing for a bigger club than those for whom they had played previously.
The Tynecastle head coach is facing the heat after suffering six defeats in a row – just one point from their opening four league games being Hearts’ poorest start to a top-flight campaign in the 21st century.
Talisman Lawrence Shankland embodies the general malaise, the Scotland striker having failed to score this season despite having the most shots of any player in the Premiership.
Hardly the ideal time to be visiting a side who have only conceded once this season – in a 3-1 League Cup win over Hibernian – and who are one game away from matching the feat of five opening league games without losing a goal achieved only once before – under Willie Maley in 1906-07.
Naismith proved he could conjure upsets against Brendan Rodgers’ side with two wins out of four meetings last season, including a 2-0 win at Celtic Park in December.
Meanwhile, Shankland’s six goals against Celtic in the league since the start of the 2022-23 are as many as he has against any other opponent.
What manager and captain would give for a repeat on Saturday.
