Hearts striker Claudio Braga wins his fourth Player of the Year trophy in his first year in Scotland

Claudio Braga is adamant Hearts can cope with the intensity and pressure of Celtic Park as they look to win a historic Scottish league title. After winning his fourth Player of the Year award this month, the Portuguese forward wants to finish the campaign by writing his name into Hearts folklore as a champion.

The Scottish Football Writers Association is the latest organisation to vote Braga Player of the Year and he will collect his award this weekend. He has already taken PFA Scotland Player of the Year, William Hill Premiership Player of the Year and Hearts Players’ Player of the Year this month. The latest accolade underlines what a fantastic first season he has enjoyed in Scotland, which includes 17 goals and six assists in 43 appearances so far.

Hearts will win the league for the first time in 66 years if they avoid defeat against Celtic on Saturday. There is pressure on both teams but Braga is confident he and his colleagues have the ability to hold their nerve in front of 60,000 fans in Glasgow. “I think we can cope with it,” he said.

“We’re professional football players and, speaking for myself but probably for everybody, these are the games you dream about as a kid. These are the games you want to play - the games that matter, the big games. So, if the atmosphere is good, then good. Hopefully our supporters make a lot of noise too. May the best team win.

“My family is coming over. Half of Portugal will probably be here,” he joked. “I’m not really someone who goes out much, especially now. I came straight from a half-season in Norway, so I’ve barely had any holidays. I need to rest most of the time. Usually, I go from training straight home. Maybe once a week I’ll go for a walk or something, but mostly I stay at home because physically you need to recharge, especially this close to the end of the season. Of course, if football is going well, I feel at home no matter where I am. It could be Greenland - I’d still be happy.”

Hearts have enjoyed two wins from three meetings with Celtic so far this season. They have also beaten Rangers three times out of four. Those results show the Tynecastle side can handle traditionally Scotland’s two biggest clubs. “Yeah, I think we’ve proved ourselves more than enough,” opined Braga. “Maybe we struggled more against the smaller teams at times because of the way we play. We have shown we have the quality to go toe-to-toe with anybody. So we just need to do that again. Don’t be afraid. We are Hearts. We are in first place. That’s all we need to think about.”

Braga has formed a close bond with his Tynecastle striking partner, Lawrence Shankland, this season. The Portuguese has beaten the Scotsman to a few awards, too. “Yeah, he congratulated me. He’s a great guy,” said Braga. “When he voted for me for Hearts Player of the Year, he said: ‘I hate to say this, but I voted for Claudio.’

“Me and him have this love-hate relationship where we insult each other all the time, but we love each other really. He’s a great guy and he’s helped me a lot. I know he’s happy for me, and I’d be happy for him too because it’s always good seeing good people succeed. I love seeing him score. I think everybody in the team feels that way about each other. That’s why we’re in the position we’re in - because everybody looks after each other with love. The ‘hate’ part is just jokes. I think we all genuinely care about each other.”

Shankland has three more goals than Braga this term with only one match left. “Like I said, it’s a happy rivalry. Of course I want to finish with more goals than him, but if I don’t, I’ll still be happy for him,” stressed Braga. “I’m already happy with the number of goals I’ve scored. Just to be competing with probably the best striker in the league - the guy who has scored the most goals - and doing that inside the same team, joking around and competing to see who scores more, that’s something amazing.”