Neil Critchley plots Bundesliga double salvo with Hearts boss out to replicate Celtic against Heidenheim

Neil Critchley insists Hearts are eyeing a second Scottish Bundesliga bashing in just three days against Heidenheim on Thursday night.

The Jambos welcome the Germans to Tynecastle on matchday three of the Conference League with both sides boasting 100 per cent records. Celtic dealt RB Leipzig a Champions League bloody nose on Tuesday night. And Critchley says his Hearts stars are capable of backing it up with their own statement win in Gorgie.

He said: “I watched that game last night and I thought Celtic were very good. I enjoyed watching that game. Celtic were fully deserving of their victory, I thought they were excellent on the night. Hopefully we can be the next Scottish team to win against German opposition.

“We’ve made a good start to the tournament and we have to capitalise on that. We are at home. We're trying to take another step forward and get three points. If we do that, we'll be in a really positive position.

“I’m not looking any further than Heidenheim because we know the difficult task we've got in front of us. It would be foolish to start looking ahead and planning ahead. Hopefully, the supporters are doing that for some of their away trips, but for us, we're solely focused on Thursday night and the job we've got in front of us.”

Heidenheim’s rise from the seventh tier of German football into the Bundesliga last season has been one of the most remarkable stories in European football in recent years. It’s made all the more incredible by the fact manager Frank Schmidt has been at the helm for the past 17 of those - since taking over in 2007 when the club languished in the fifth tier.

Critchley has done his homework on the club - and knows Hearts will need to step up the levels even from that which