You have to respect Hearts and what they have done in the opening month of the season – but I just don’t think that they will be there at the top come May.

The manner in which they have started the campaign suggests that they cannot afford to be taken lightly but when it comes to doing it over the course of a 38 game season I fully expect that Celtic won’t have too many problems in getting themselves back up on top.

But I don’t mean that to be disrespectful in any way to what they have done since the season got underway. It is an achievement that has been all the more laudable for the players that they have lost and the fact that Craig Levein had a bit of a scare and also found himself in hospital.

I was delighted to see him back at the weekend and I wish him well. But I just don’t fancy that Hearts have enough to cope with the full season.

Celtic have been over the course so many times before and they know what it takes to stay calm and just let the football do the taking.

I always felt that outside of Ibrox, Tynecastle was the toughest place to go as a Celtic player. The crowd are on top of you, the place is rocking and there is just a particular kind of atmosphere associated with these games.

It gives me great pleasure to recall that my record against Hearts was pretty good!