Steven Naismith demands a Hearts challenge amid Celtic and Rangers title pressure

Head coach knows the stakes are high ahead of Sunday's meeting at Tynecastle

The pressure of the Premiership title race must be used to Hearts' advantage against Celtic on Sunday, according to the Tynecastle head coach Steven Naismith. He wants his players to seize the opportunity and earn a result with Celtic and Rangers separated by only two points at the top of the league.

Naismith is demanding that his team challenge Celtic to prove themselves capable of competing against the Glasgow clubs following last week's 5-0 defeat by Rangers at Ibrox. Hearts drew 1-1 at home to Hibs on Wednesday and now await Celtic's arrival in Gorgie.

"It's a big test because the Old Firm have much bigger budgets and their quality is high," Naismith told the Edinburgh News. "If you give them opportunities, like we did last weekend, they will score the goals more than miss them. We have to enjoy this challenge. If we want to be up the top end of the table and be part of that group, then you need to compete against them.

"Ibrox wasn't good enough but I think our Old Firm games in general have been decent in terms of performance and competing. We know Sunday will be tough. We need to use everything being at home, get the confidence we have built throughout the season, and the fact there is a real title race on. The pressure swings from game to game for the Old Firm and we need to use that as much as we can."

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Although Hearts did not reach peak performance in the Edinburgh derby, Naismith was encouraged by their defending after losing five goals a few days previously. Frankie Kent and Stephen Kingsley both stood out in central defence. "We all knew last weekend wasn't good enough from a defensive point of view but there was no sulking," said Naismith.

"We dealt with everything Hibs threw at us and that's because we have good characters. Kent and Kingsley are leaders and good characters. They understand when it's not good enough and they are the first to say. We have a good group of players who drive the standards and the resilience you need.

"It could have got nervy on Wednesday and before you know it the crowd are on you and it becomes a terrible atmosphere. We had our better spell after Hibs scored, we moved the ball about, got our penalty and started playing with a bit of freedom. The guys in the changing room drive that.

"From where we were last weekend, it was a good point for us. It's a good point because we are a point better off in the league table than we were before the game. That's a positive. We are 12 points clear. We were tested at the weekend, we needed a reaction and got one."