Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers believes his side have been their own worst enemy this season.
However, Rodgers is optimistic the Hoops can find the consistency of performance they will need during the title run-in.
The cinch Premiership champions delivered their biggest victory of the season on Wednesday when they thrashed Dundee 7-1 with the help of six first-half goals.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Highlights of the Scottish Premiership match between Celtic and Dundee
Previous league games since the winter break had all been tight and two draws saw Celtic lose top spot in the table to Rangers, who could go five points clear when they host Motherwell on Saturday.
Celtic travel to face Hearts on Sunday – live on Sky Sports – possibly without skipper Callum McGregor, and Rodgers is looking for his side to build on their midweek display.
“I have always felt our biggest enemy this season is ourselves,” he said.
“If we perform to the level that we can do on a consistent basis, we are a very good team. It’s that consistency now of taking that performance into our next game.”
Rodgers has seen Alistair Johnston, Greg Taylor and Cameron Carter-Vickers return to his back four in recent games following injuries.
He is looking to utilise that settled platform in the final months of the season.
Cameron Carter-Vickers opened the scoring for Celtic as he started in the win over Dundee
“When you arrive at 10 games to go, that’s when the fun begins, that’s when you are into the business side,” he said.
“That’s what I am really looking forward to.
“We have obviously had inconsistencies up to this point. But we are still very much there, still very much in our hands what it is we want to do.
“To have these players coming back is great and really good timing.”
McGregor was replaced by Daniel Kelly at half-time against Dundee, with the 18-year-old scoring his first goal on his league debut.
“Callum came off at half-time during the week,” Rodgers said. “He felt his Achilles a little bit and his calf.
“I know from speaking to him, at this time of the year he does normally feel a little bit because he does play so much.
“So we just have to assess that and see where he is over the next 24 hours.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Rodgers reveals Celtic captain Callum McGregor is a doubt for the trip to Hearts, discusses how to build on the 7-1 win over Dundee and insists his team must be wary of facing Hearts and in-form striker Lawrence Shankland
McGregor has played further forward in the past two games after the return of Tomoki Iwata, who missed two months of action after picking up a knock.
The Japanese midfielder has seized his latest opportunity after making only 10 starts during his first 12 months as a Celtic player.
“He anchors that midfield for us and allows Cal to move on,” Rodgers said.
“He is a very good player but he has missed a lot of this season, moments where it looked like he was going to get his run in the team, he was out injured.
“So that’s been the challenging time for him and then it was just been about getting him up to speed and getting him in at the right time.
“I am really pleased for him because he has given his all in training and he has waited for that opportunity.
“This was a midfield that was very difficult for players to get into.
“If you look at Matt O’Riley, with all due respect, Matt wasn’t really starting last year. You had Callum, Reo Hatate and Aaron Mooy playing a lot of the games. He has come in and had a fantastic season, Matt, and Tomo has had to be patient.
“But I trust him, when he does come in. He plays the game simple, he is dynamic in winning the ball back and he has performed really well in these last two games.”
Follow Celtic with Sky Sports
Follow every Celtic game in the Scottish Premiership this season with our live blogs on the Sky Sports website and app, and watch match highlights for free.
Want the Celtic latest? Bookmark our Celtic news page, check out Celtic’s fixtures and Celtic’s latest results, watch Celtic’s goals and video, keep track of the Scottish Premiership table and see which Celtic games are coming up live on Sky Sports.
Get all this and more – including notifications sent straight to your phone – by downloading the Sky Sports Scores app and setting Celtic as your favourite team.
Get Sky Sports on WhatsApp!
You can now start receiving messages and alerts for the latest breaking sports news, analysis, in-depth features and videos from our dedicated WhatsApp channel!
