Boyata speaks of team mentality ahead of Tynecastle trip

Defender Dedryck Boyata says that he and his teammates are ready for the challenge that awaits them this weekend.

The Hoops face Hearts in Sunday’s early kick-off, with three points guaranteeing them a sixth consecutive league title with eight games to spare.

Though if Aberdeen lose to Dundee in tonight’s (Friday) fixture, Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic will have won the title before even kicking a ball.

Boyata spoke to the media earlier today ahead of Sunday’s game in Edinburgh, and stated how the Hoops must focus on winning like always:

This weekend is a very important game but we’ve been taking it one match at a time so we’ll treat this the same, hopefully we can win.

I’ll be watching the Aberdeen game tonight but we don’t know what will happen. Sunday is our game and that’s what we’re focused on.

A champion will always want to be a champion, it doesn’t matter when. I’ll watch the game tonight and we’ll see.

We’ll stay focused on the targets that we set at the start of the season even after we win the title.

The Belgian international also spoke of the current campaign from a personal point of view:

It’s been a satisfying time, I’d like to keep going to the end. It’s important for me to finish strongly.

It was hard in the beginning but it feels good to be part of the team. I want to keep going and keep playing as well as I can.

I’m enjoying this moment. There’s no point in talking about the past, right now it feels like things are getting better.

The 26-year-old has been a first-team regular since the start of the year and has done well to break into the team.

Injuries have plagued his Celtic career since his arrival in 2015, meaning he’s struggled to get some momentum going for goof form.

Rodgers has seemed to give the centre-back encourgement and confidence to become a better all-round player.