Now it’s Celtic’s turn to play some mind-games … and Nygren is first.

In the aftermath of the game in Stuttgart, Luke McCowan made some comments about Celtic.

He said that when Celtic are on our game, no club in the country can live with us.

Those remarks triggered a rather extraordinary response from the boss across the city, about whom I will say a little more later. His mini meltdown was notable because McCowan never mentioned his club. He simply stated what is, in Scottish football terms, a fairly obvious fact.

However, that was still too much for the Ibrox boss Danny Rohl to tolerate.

The reaction raises another interesting question. How will Hearts and their manager cope with the comments from Benny Nygren? Nygren said the pressure is now on Hearts because Celtic are on their tail.

That is a small piece of psychological pressure being applied. Nothing about that tactic is new. Derek McInnes has been trying the same trick on Celtic and the club across the city for weeks, although his version has not produced much success.

Of course, last weekend suited him perfectly. His two rivals were playing one another.

In truth there was no result that would not have benefited him in some way. Therefore the idea that one or both of the Glasgow clubs buckled under pressure is fairly nonsensical. We had an equally good weekend earlier in February when his club faced the Ibrox side.

On that occasion there was no losing result for Celtic because we had already taken care of Kilmarnock earlier that day, although we left it late.

Nevertheless it will be interesting to see how McInnes responds to Nygren’s comment.

This was not a throwaway remark. Nygren is genuinely turning the screw a little. He is entitled to do that because everyone else has felt free to do the same. When he says it, however, he means it. Celtic are the last club Hearts want on their tail.

If the Ibrox club were sitting in second place right now Hearts would at least have some comfort. They would know that side has stumbled at the finish line more than once in recent years.

Instead they are dealing with Celtic.

They are dealing with the club that has scored last minute winners. They are dealing with the club that has come back from two goals down twice in the last month to rescue major results. This is a club managed by Martin O’Neill, who pound for pound has the best record of any boss in the league at the moment and who has already been over this course before.

For Hearts that is a far less comfortable scenario.

Nobody is claiming Celtic will definitely win this title.

That is not what Nygren was suggesting either. This will be a slog. Nine league games remain and every one of them will matter.

However Celtic have always carried a psychological edge in this league. Now the situation has shifted again. Celtic are chasing and the gap sits at five points. Hearts therefore have to keep winning. They especially have to keep winning knowing they must still come to Celtic Park after the split.

Meanwhile Celtic must improve against the other top sides in the league.

Our record against them this season has not been good enough. Even so there is now a different edge to this team. There is a hardness about them. The football may not always look pretty, but the results continue to arrive.

So is this deliberate policy from Celtic? Are we starting to apply pressure through press conferences and media appearances? Possibly. Then again it might simply reflect growing confidence within the squad. That confidence could prove decisive in the weeks ahead.

Nygren delivered the message this time, which matters. He has become one of the engines of this side. He scores goals and drives performances. When a player like that speaks, people tend to listen.

It has been a long time since Celtic openly talked about hunting down the opposition. Many observers believe this Celtic team has passed its peak. Nevertheless the old song still applies. Celtic can still be as good once as we ever were. When the biggest games arrive this team can still produce its best version.

That is the version every club in this league fears.

For that reason the mind games will only intensify from here. That is inevitable. It is also good to see Celtic playing a few of those games themselves.

After all we remain the defending champions. Pound for pound this squad still contains the best players in the league. Some clubs may no longer fear that reality. The smarter ones still respect it.

Now the pressure shifts to McInnes and his team. They must show how they handle a Celtic side closing the gap.

Soon enough the battle will begin again.

Without European distractions Celtic should grow stronger as the weeks pass. Once this weekend is out of the way the season becomes a straight sprint to the finish, aside from what we hope are a couple of games at Hampden.