Claudio Braga says plenty of work to do despite Hearts’ latest win over Celtic

Hearts striker Claudio Braga stressed there was plenty of work to do after their latest win over Celtic.

Braga netted to send Hearts on the way to a 2-1 victory at Parkhead on Sunday as the Premiership leaders moved three points clear.

But with only one victory to their name in the six matches in between two wins over the champions, Braga knows they cannot afford to drop standards.

“If we win against Celtic and we lose against Falkirk, then what’s the point, you know? That makes no sense,” the Portuguese forward said.

“So we just need to keep working, sharpen up the things we need to sharpen up.

“There are always going to be bumps on the road but we can’t have any doubts about ourselves. We just need to to carry on knowing what we can do and showing that personality.

“There is pressure when you’re in the position we’re in at the top of the league, but it’s a good pressure.

“We know what we can do, not only against Celtic but against every team. We’re not the best team because we beat Celtic on Sunday and we weren’t the worst team when we were on a run of not winning the last five games. We just needed to be a little more sharp in the situation.

“Yes, it’s a good motivation to have beaten Celtic twice but we know if we play like a family we can do that to most teams.”

Braga’s goal was met with a delayed reaction as the vast majority of people in the ground looked for an offside flag.

But the assistant referee had spotted Arne Engels playing the forward on out wide and Braga took advantage of some hesitancy in the Celtic defence.

“I thought I was offside at first, then I didn’t know,” he said. “I just tried not to give up on the ball. If I didn’t, it would go to (Kasper) Schmeichel.

“So, I just tried not to give up and then see what the referee would say when I scored.

“I didn’t really celebrate while we waited. I looked at the bench straightaway and the players there were telling me it was onside. They always have the camera so I just tried to check in with them. It was a good moment.”