Steven Naismith highlights Hearts' character as Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers apologises

Both managers experienced conflicting emotions at Celtic Park

Hearts' diligent 2-0 victory prompted the Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers to apologise to his supporters at full-time on Saturday. The Edinburgh club returned to third spot in the Premiership thanks to a disciplined and ruthless display which earned their first league win at Celtic Park since 2007.

Lawrence Shankland's header and Stephen Kingsley's scintillating 25-yard free-kick put Hearts comfortably ahead in the first half. They withstood concerted pressure during the second period, although Celtic failed to create many clear chances and left their fans exasperated.

Some home supporters turned on the Parkhead directors and chanted "Sack the Board" as the game wore on. Celtic chairman Peter Lawwell was also the target for abuse as "Lawwell, Lawwell, get to F***" echoed around the ground.

Hearts players maintained focus and character to see the game out and drew praise from head coach Steven Naismith. He accused them of being bullied at Aberdeen last week, but they more than answered the criticism.

"Today has probably given the players that belief. The performance was great, we were playing a team that has brilliant resources, a bigger squad and loads of threats from the bench," said Naismith. "You know you’re going to need to be creative, you know you’ll need to defend at times. But the biggest aspect is: When you win the ball, you need to cause them problems.

"I think we did that. Our composure on the ball leads to us getting the corner at the first goal and the free kick at the second. They were two great strikes but that’s not just luck for Shanks at the back post. It’s having a calmness in these big moments. Whether it’s our defenders deciding ‘no I can see a pass’ - I don’t think there’s a better team in Scotland at pressing than Celtic. They are really aggressive and we played through it at times. We were good enough to do that. That’s massively important against the Old Firm."

It was precisely the reaction Naismith wanted after losing in stoppage-time at Aberdeen. "Yeah it was. We are moving in the right direction as a squad. You come into Hearts and there’s a demand and need for success. But it doesn’t happen overnight," he added

"You need to go through some tough times. Last week was tough. Monday morning’s meeting was tough. But what I like about this group is they accepted it, worked hard in training then today they showed they have that quality. That’s because they want to be good individually but also as a team. They want to be successful.”

Naismith highlighted midfielder Jorge Grant's attitude as one which typified Hearts on the day. "He got a kick on the ankle five minutes in. He was struggling at half-time but he said he wanted to stay on. That's the kind of characters we need. We were led by Shanks as the captain, the back three were solid, then we bring on Barrie McKay and guys who have that calmness when you have the ball."

Rodgers stressed that the responsibility for the result lay with players and coaches rather than the Celtic hierarchy. "That result is on myself and the players. We have to be so much better than that. We can blame whoever we want, the reality is that is us on the field. It's nowhere near good enough for a Celtic team," he said. "Give some credit to Hearts. They got a goal from the corner and then a second from a free-kick. They were stubborn and made it very difficult for us.

"It was nowhere near the levels of a Celtic team. We were very passive and lacked fluidity. The build up to the second goal was so passive that it was frightening. It's a real sore one. I think, for the first time since I've been here over two spells, that I have to apologise to the supporters. That level is nowhere near the standards required at Celtic. It's a way, way off what this club demands."