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Luke McCowan believes Celtic won’t have to worry about a title challenge emerging from Hearts provided they take care of their own business.
Saturday’s stalemate against Hibs was the second league draw of the season for Brendan Rodgers’ side and saw them fall two points behind the Tynecastle men at the top of the table.
Derek McInnes’ men could open up a five-point lead at the summit next weekend if they defeat David Gray’s outfit in the capital derby the day before the Parkhead side face Motherwell.
While McCowan is respectful of the early pace set by the Gorgie men, he contends that his side only have to concern themselves with demonstrating why they’ve been champions of Scotland for the past four seasons.
‘We’re not eyeballing Hearts and worrying about them or anything like that. It’s more worrying about ourselves,’ said the midfielder.
‘It’s making sure that we’re at it. That’s always been the Celtic way. It’s about "we come first" and we make sure we’re doing the things that we’re good at throughout the season.
Luke McCowan in action during Saturday's stalemate against Hibs at Celtic Park
Johnny Kenny reacts after a missed chance for Celtic in the 0-0 draw with Hibs
Another wasted opportunity leaves Meada and Iheanacho wondering what they have to do to score
‘If we keep up what we’re doing, it won’t matter what Hearts do. It’s about the levels of performance Celtic put in.
‘It doesn’t matter if there’s one point in it or 10 or more. It’s about putting that level of expectation on yourself. It won’t matter if Hearts are there or not. It’s about us.
‘It’s a level of expectation at this club. You need to put that pressure on yourself and you need to accept that pressure of league champions.
‘You need to go and show why you won at the league before. But knowing that winning it the year before means absolutely nothing. It’s about pushing on and pushing on and then doing that throughout the full season.’
Unperturbed by his side failing to find the breakthrough after creating a string of chances, McCowan is confident that his side will against prove their worth over the course of 38 matches.
‘It’s the same every season, isn’t it? There’s always a team that pushes us,’ he added.
‘It’s always the question. Last year, it was Aberdeen, they started like a house on fire. Hearts as well have started like a house on fire, performing well.
Luke McCowan says Celtic don't have to worry about Hearts if they take care of their own business
Paulo Bernardo fires a shot during goalless draw that left Celtic two points behind Hearts at summit of Premiership
Brendan Rodgers was happy with his team's performance but not the result
‘It’s so early, there’s so many games to play. If we keep that performance level that we did today, we’ll come away with having three points more often than not.’
Saturday’s match began in an eerie atmosphere with most home supporters remaining quiet for the opening 12 minutes as they protested about the lack of engagement from the board in addressing concerns over the way the club is being run.
The silent protest will be extended to 29 minutes when Braga visit in the Europa League on Thursday then 32 minutes for the Motherwell match on Sunday - each minute representing a day since an open letter from fans to the board has gone unanswered.
A die-hard Celtic supporter, McCowan fully respected the demonstration but knows his current job is to ensure the team wins football matches.
‘That’s our full focus,’ he said. ‘As we said before the game, it’s just what we’re doing on the pitch is the main thing that we can contribute to.
‘We just need to keep focused on ourselves. If the fans are doing whatever, then that’s on them. It’s not in our control.
‘We just need to control what we can and that is the stuff on the pitch. The first 12 minutes I could actually hear people talking to me, which was a bit strange.
Supporters held a silent protest and made their feelings know about the Celtic board
Celtic fans demand the sacking of the Parkhead board during Saturday's visit of Hibernian
‘But the fans are doing what they want and that’s fair enough to them. We just need to keep fully focused on ourselves.’
Although Celtic remain unbeaten in the Premiership, the eight goals they’ve scored after six matches is 12 fewer than they managed at this point last year.
‘I guess you could probably say that’s credit to other teams, though,’ McCowan offered.
‘They’ve probably known that was our biggest strength. It probably still can be our biggest strength - getting out quick and scoring goals really, really early in games.
‘If that doesn’t happen, it’s about not getting frustrated and getting into second halves and knowing that if we work the ball well then, we’re going to create many more opportunities.
‘It has been a superpower, but it’s about knowing that we can get back to that.’
