What Celtic need at Motherwell to go top - and the result that would leave them identical with Hearts

Wilfried Nancy takes his team to Fir Park on Tuesday looking to continue his recovery from a horror start by making it three victories on the bounce.

Nancy lost his first four matches in charge - the first Celtic manager in history to do so - before steadying the ship with back-to-back wins over Aberdeen and Livingston.

Celtic have conceded 13 goals across his six-game tenure thus far.

That is two more than they did in the first 16 matches of the season under Brendan Rodgers, and more than double the amount they shipped during Martin O’Neill’s eight-match spell in interim charge.

Going top of the table ahead of the Old Firm derby against Rangers at Celtic Park on Saturday would further settle the initial drama around Nancy’s start.

However, Celtic will need to win by five goals to leapfrog Hearts due to the goal difference situation, which will be no mean feat against a fourth-placed Motherwell side whose only defeat in their last 11 matches came against Rangers at Ibrox on Saturday.

Hearts, who had their six-point lead halved at the weekend following their derby defeat to Hibs, have a goal difference of +21, compared to Celtic's +17.

Hearts have scored 38 goals and conceded 17, while Celtic have scored 33 and conceded 16. It means that a 5-1 victory for Celtic over Motherwell would leave the top two with identical records.

Should that transpire, then Hearts would remain top based on the head-to-head record between the clubs, with Derek McInnes’ side having defeated Celtic home and away in the first half of the season.

A victory of any kind will at the very least draw Celtic level with Hearts on 41 points at the top of the standings at the exact halfway point of the campaign.

“If we win the game and this is the situation, yes, for sure we’re going to be happy,” Nancy said.

“But let’s prepare for the game, let’s have a good game. Let’s maximise our chance to win the game. And after that, if we have to be top of the table, we’re going to be.

“And if this is not the case, we know that the season is long.

“But the idea is to keep the momentum. The idea is to improve regarding the game that we had on Saturday. To be able to get better.

“My job is to challenge the players. So we did really good stuff on Saturday. I would challenge them to keep doing what we did. And I would challenge them also to do better regarding certain things. But at the same time, I would support them.

“I want to push more. I want to do more for my players.”