Claudio Braga says Hearts must sharpen up after Celtic as he outlines players' motivation

The significance of Hearts’ victory at Celtic Park is not lost on Claudio Braga, scorer of the opening goal. He thought he was offside but celebrated regardless before Oisin McEntee’s header secured a memorable 2-1 win. Hearts have now won all of their matches against Celtic and Rangers this season as their challenge atop the Premiership table continues. Braga is loving the prosperity but also issued a warning after the joyous scenes in Glasgow.

The Portuguese forward advised that his team need to “sharpen up” if they intend staying top of the table. Saturday brings a trip to Falkirk before Rangers visit Gorgie on Sunday, 21 December. The disciplined display at Celtic Park was not without flaws, and Braga wants them addressed. The 21-year-old has scored 10 goals in 21 appearances since arriving in Edinburgh from Norwegian club FK Aalesunds during the summer and is eager to see more all-round improvement, mindful that Hearts won only one of their six fixtures before Celtic.

“If we win at Celtic and lose to Falkirk, what’s the point? That makes no sense,” he said. “We need to keep working and sharpen up - because we need to sharpen up a lot of things - and play as a family like we know we can play. We know bumps in the road will happen but we can’t doubt ourselves. We need to carry on knowing what we can do and having personality, also, because pressure is bigger in this position. But it’s a good pressure.

“We know what we can do, not only against Celtic but we showed what we can do against every team. We are not the best because we won on Sunday, and we are not the worst because we didn’t have many good results in the last few weeks. We just need to focus on working a little bit more and getting sharp in the situations where we should be sharp. Winning against a club like Celtic twice is good motivation but we know that we can do that against every team if we work as a family like we did on Sunday. It’s a difficult away game so three points is a good result for us. Lately, the points have not been like usual so it’s good to come back in the league.”

There is personal pride at playing and scoring in front of a crowd nearing 60,000 people. Braga has never experienced a stadium like Celtic Park, even though Hearts helped keep it quiet for virtually the entire afternoon. “It was amazing [to score], even though it was a half goal celebration,” said Braga. “As a football player, it’s a good achievement to play in front of 60,000 people. I can’t lie. It was a good atmosphere and the biggest stadium I ever played in. I’m just happy to achieve that in my life.

“I thought I was offside but, at the same time, I didn’t know. I tried not to give up on the ball. If I didn’t get it, then it would have gone through to [Kasper] Schmeichel. I just tried not to give up and then see what the referee would say. When I scored, I thought I was offside but I celebrated so much when it wasn’t. I looked at the bench and the staff and players were telling me it was onside. I don’t know how. I just tried to check with them because they always have the cameras. It was good to know it was onside.

“I’m a striker so it’s important. Most people look at a striker and, if he doesn’t score, they think he doesn’t play well. I think my job and the job of Shankland, Kabangu, Kabore, James Wilson, is different. It’s not only scoring goals, it’s playing for the team also. I try to do that as much as I can. Scoring goals always gives you extra motivation. I’m having a good season, starting in a good way, but I also need to make sure I don’t take my feet off the ground.

For all the euphoria Sunday’s result generated, Braga stressed that beating Celtic twice doesn’t necessarily constitute any statement from Hearts. He is keen to ensure the victory spurs his team on for the busy and potentially pivotal period over Christmas and into New Year. “We get the motivation straight away. It’s obvious,” he said. “Playing in their stadium, we knew it was going to be tough after the results we had. People were doubting a little bit but I wouldn’t say it’s a statement. I would say it’s a good win to keep us motivated and keep us trying to track our work. We know we still have a lot of work to do. It’s still so early in the season, so it’s not a statement but it’s good motivation for the boys for the rest of the week.

“We knew what we should do, be compact and tried to explore when we won the ball. That’s what we did. We know it’s a difficult game and they would control more of the game. We just had to be patient and comfortable without the ball. I feel like we could have scored more. The last pass, me included, I feel like I could do better in the final third. At the same time, 2-1 is a good result. The last third is definitely something we can improve, the decision-making. When Celtic were so high, we could definitely be a threat on the counter-attack.”