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Hearts legend Gary Mackay identifies Celtic’s weak link ahead of cup final

Neil Lennon, Interim manager of Celtic looks on ahead of the Ladbrokes Scottish Premiership match between Celtic and Rangers at Celtic Park on Marc...
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Neil Lennon’s Scottish Premiership leaders Celtic will face Hearts in the Cup final at Hampden Park.

Neil Lennon, Interim manager of Celtic looks on ahead of the Ladbrokes Scottish Premiership match between Celtic and Rangers at Celtic Park on March 31, 2019 in Glasgow, Scotland.

Hearts legend Gary Mackay believes his side can take advantage of a rather erratic Celtic back line in the Scottish Cup final next month, while speaking to Edinburgh News.

Craig Levein’s side will go head-to-head with his former Edinburgh derby rival Neil Lennon at Hampden Park in May as they look to win the trophy for the first time since 2012.

Needless to say, Celtic represent rather daunting opponents given that they have dominated the domestic scene in the last few seasons. The Glasgow giants are looking to secure an unprecedented treble-treble after all.

But Mackay, who played over 500 games for Hearts between 1980 and 1997, sees no reason why his former club cannot cause Celtic plenty of problems in the final third.

“Celtic have three or four real quality players who are on a different level to anything Hearts have,” he said.

A PORTRAIT OF GARY MACKAY OF HEARTS FOOTBALL CLUB TAKEN DURING THE OFFICIAL 1995 TEAM PHOTOCALL. Mandatory Credit: Allsport UK

“But by the same token there are a few players, particularly at centre-back and right-back, who I feel would be vulnerable if Hearts went about the game in a positive manner and were able to put them under pressure.”

Mikael Lustig and Jeremy Toljan will be competing to start on the right of Lennon’s defence against Hearts while the former Hiberian boss has the likes of Dedryck Boyata, Jozo Simunovic, Kristoffer Ajer and Filip Benkovic to choose from in the centre.

If the likes of Steven Naismith and Uche Ikpeazu turn up at Hampden, Hearts certainly have the weapons to cause Celtic some damage.

30th March 2019, Tynecastle Park, Edinburgh, Scotland; Ladbrokes Premiership football, Heart of Midlothian versus Aberdeen;  Scott McKenna of Aberdeen  and Uche Ikpeazu of Hearts compete...