‘Hearts’ fight is with themselves but what do they do now?’

Their bubble is burst. The honeymoon period is over. There is no title race.

Despite sitting top of the table, Hearts made the trip along the M8 to take on Celtic showered in such sentiments.

All the bright lights shone on the rejuvenated champions, who were set to be led for the first time by new manager Wilfred Nancy.

The Parkhead side had won seven of the eight games since Derek McInnes’ league leaders left them eight points adrift and without manager Brendan Rodgers, who left the morning after.

Martin O’Neill’s steadying of the ship as interim boss coincided with Hearts’ “wee bit of a wobble” – a run of just one win in six games since their Celtic scalp.

All of that combined set Sunday’s meeting of the Scottish Premiership’s top two as textbook, rather than storybook.

But what’s a fairy tale without a twist?

Hearts ripped up the script to spoil Nancy’s debut in the Celtic Park dugout and re-establish daylight at the summit, albeit the Glasgow side have a game in hand.

“We had to change the narrative a wee bit,” McInnes explained.

“Our fight is with ourselves, not with Celtic.”

In recent weeks, Hearts have handed themselves a bit of a reality check. Before banking the three points in Glasgow’s east end, their last win was 1 November.

In this wild season, which seems to get wackier by the week, that seems a lifetime ago.

Wednesday’s draw with Kilmarnock was a fourth in that run and it brought a bit of booing. Quite the gear change from the ‘we shall not be moved’ chant that was religiously chorused by the maroon faithful in their blistering start to the campaign.

Former Hearts winger Neil McCann said on Sportscene “frustration” was creeping into the crowd.

Those who had enjoyed taunting their pals of other clubs in this season’s early days were perhaps beginning to share the wider scepticism surrounding their club’s capability of a title challenge.

But McInnes insists his “belief hasn’t been affected”.

“We’ve been disappointed in the last few weeks that we’ve just been okay and okay doesn’t get the games won in the Premiership regardless of who your opponent is,” McInnes told BBC Scotland.

“There was loads that I liked about my team. You’ve got to think as if you’ve won the game before you’ve won and carry yourself that way and I thought we did that.

“We’re well into December now. The players shouldn’t doubt themselves, shouldn’t doubt what we are.

“Once we come out the second round of fixtures, you’ve got a rough idea of where you are.

As the rain continued to batter down at Celtic Park and Nancy wiped the water off his whiteboard, Hearts managed the game effortlessly.

While Celtic far from threw the kitchen sink in their direction, the Tynecastle side defended tenaciously and stuck to their tactics to secure another statement win.

Much like the build-up to this game, though, much of the post-mortem will be spent on the champions.

How did they get into this position? How does Nancy suit them? How do they pick themselves up again for the Europa League visit of Roma and the Premier Sports Cup final against St Mirren next Sunday?

Rightly or wrongly, Hearts will slip under the radar a little bit again. But is that the way they like it?

“It will give them that confidence boost because lots of people have said their bubble has burst in recent weeks, but that is a statement,” former Scotland forward James McFadden explained on Sky Sports.

“Now for Hearts it’s about what happens after this win.”

It’s a much more straightforward answer than the convoluted ones for Celtic.

Keep the heid.

Falkirk are the hosts on Saturday (20:00 GMT) before an almighty festive double-header – Rangers at home on Sunday, 21 December (13:30) and a trip to Hibernian on Saturday, 27 December (12:30) sees out the year for Hearts.

By the visit of Danny Rohl’s side, who have clawed back to within nine of the leaders, Celtic will have played their game in hand against Dundee United.

If they are to continue to set the pace into 2026, then they cannot afford to “wobble” in the way they did before Sunday’s triumph in Glasgow.