NafisaHearts captain Stephen Kingsley has delivered a furious assessment of his teammates following their humiliating 7-1 defeat to Celtic, admitting that the Edinburgh side made a catalogue of costly mistakes at Celtic Park.
The defender did not attempt to hide his anger after watching Hearts collapse in front of the home supporters on Sunday afternoon, with the visitors conceding five goals before half-time in a performance that left them facing serious questions.
However, Kingsley’s post-match comments have also raised eyebrows because of his insistence that Hearts effectively gifted Celtic the victory rather than simply being played off the park by Brendan Rodgers’ side.
While acknowledging Celtic’s quality and clinical finishing, the Hearts captain repeatedly returned to his own team’s errors, arguing that their mistakes made the outcome far worse than it needed to be.
And his blunt assessment of the defeat is unlikely to sit comfortably with every Celtic supporter, particularly those who believe the champions deserve full credit for dismantling their opponents on their own ground.
Kingsley made little attempt to soften his words when discussing the damage Hearts inflicted on themselves during the match.
“It’s just very raw. Embarrassment, I think, with the first half in terms of the way we lost the goals,” he said.
“I think we shot ourselves in the foot countless times. Celtic were clinical, fair play to them, but I just felt like we played right into their hands. We made too many mistakes, two set-pieces to start it off. It kills you straight away. You can’t do that when you go to places like that.”
The Hearts defender described the opening period as a “calamity of errors”, arguing that Celtic repeatedly punished his side whenever they surrendered possession or lost their defensive shape.
His comments amount to a stinging criticism of his teammates, with Kingsley suggesting that Hearts’ own shortcomings were central to the scale of the defeat.
Celtic deserve credit for converting their opportunities, he acknowledged, but the captain clearly felt his side made the task far too easy for the hosts.
“They were good at it. Obviously, they’re a great counter-attacking team. They’ve got pace, they’ve got quality. It’s very disappointing that we knew that going into the game and played right into their hands.”
That admission will fuel the debate surrounding the result. Celtic produced a ruthless attacking display, but Kingsley’s argument is that Hearts repeatedly handed them the opportunities to inflict damage rather than making them work for every goal.
CELTIC FANS MAY NOT TAKE KINDLY TO HIS REMARKS
The most contentious aspect of Kingsley’s assessment is his suggestion that Hearts were responsible for so much of their own downfall.
The visitors conceded twice from early set-pieces before further defensive and possession errors helped Celtic build an overwhelming advantage. For Kingsley, the pattern was especially frustrating because Hearts knew what kind of threat awaited them.
“The mistake, the corners straight off the bat, it’s criminal to lose two set-pieces in the first opening parts of the game,” he said.
He also questioned whether there was a Celtic goal in which Hearts had not contributed to their own problems.
“I’m trying to think of any goal that Celtic scored that we didn’t play a part in.”
That is a damning assessment of his own dressing room, but it also places the emphasis on Hearts’ failures rather than solely on Celtic’s dominance.
Kingsley was careful to acknowledge the opposition’s finishing, saying, “And as I said, fair play to Celtic. They were clinical.”
Nevertheless, his repeated insistence that Hearts played into Celtic’s hands could be interpreted as diminishing the achievement of a team that scored seven times at home.
Celtic supporters may argue that forcing opponents into mistakes, exploiting weaknesses and punishing defensive disorganisation are important parts of an effective performance. The fact that Hearts made errors does not automatically erase the quality required to capitalise on them.
Kingsley’s words, however, leave little doubt about where he believes the responsibility for the humiliation lies: with the players who failed to execute their own game plan.
‘DON’T BE AS NAIVE’ — CAPTAIN DEMANDS ACCOUNTABILITY
Kingsley was equally direct when asked what Hearts needed to change after such a disastrous afternoon.
“Don’t make as many mistakes. That’s an obvious one, I think,” he said.
He then delivered an even more pointed verdict on the team’s approach.
“Don’t be as naive, I think, probably.”
The defender felt Hearts failed to recover properly after Celtic scored their second goal, allowing the situation to spiral instead of rebuilding their confidence and attempting to regain control.
“It’s hard to sum up the emotions after a game like that, but I think it was naive, eh? I think after the second one goes in, there’s a point where you need to build yourself back into the game, but I just don’t think we did that.”
His frustration was understandable. Hearts had travelled to Celtic Park knowing the danger posed by their opponents, yet repeatedly made the kind of mistakes that allowed Celtic to turn the contest into a rout.
Kingsley insisted that responsibility must be shared throughout the squad rather than placed on one individual.
“There’s no-one going to be pointing any fingers at one specific person or one specific mistake. I think we all need to take accountability for our own performances, our own mistakes. Have a look at ourselves and what we can do better and learn from it.”
HEARTS MUST RESPOND AFTER CELTIC PARK DISASTER
Despite the scale of the defeat, Kingsley rejected the idea that Hearts would allow the result to destroy their season.
He admitted that a performance like Sunday’s could damage confidence, but stressed that the players had little time to dwell on what happened.
“We need to get over it now, don’t we? It’s one of those results that, if you linger on it, then you can let it fester and seep into future performances. We can’t have that.”
Hearts face another difficult assignment away to Trabzonspor in the UEFA Conference League on Thursday, leaving the squad with little time to analyse the Celtic defeat before turning their attention to Europe.
Kingsley wants the more experienced players to help the newer members of the squad recover mentally and ensure the result does not become the beginning of a wider slump.
“We’ve got a squad that has a great attitude, there are great boys in the changing room. No-one’s going to chuck in the towel, even though it obviously looked like it when you go five, six, seven behind.”
He added that Hearts must remain mentally strong and rebuild their confidence after a result that exposed serious weaknesses.
For Celtic, the 7-1 scoreline remains a commanding statement in front of their own supporters. For Kingsley, however, the explanation is much less flattering to his own team: Hearts made too many errors, abandoned their defensive discipline and repeatedly gave Celtic opportunities to punish them.
Whether Celtic supporters view that as an unfair attempt to downplay their team’s performance or simply the honest frustration of a captain confronting his side’s failures, Kingsley’s verdict has made one thing clear.
He believes Hearts were architects of their own humiliation — and he expects his teammates to answer for it.
Nafisa
