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Oisin McEntee insists Hearts will travel to Celtic Park believing they can defeat the champions and make an early statement in the Premiership title race.
Hearts return to Parkhead on Sunday for the first time since suffering their devastating final-day defeat there last season.
The Edinburgh side arrived knowing a draw would secure the title, only for Celtic to score twice late on and complete a dramatic 3-1 victory.
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Although McEntee missed the game through injury, he described watching his teammates lose the championship as one of the lowest moments of his career.
However, the midfielder does not expect that disappointment to weigh heavily on the current Hearts squad.
Several new players arrived at Tynecastle during the summer and were not involved in last season’s collapse.
Speaking to the Edinburgh Evening News, McEntee said: “They’ll just want to go there and win the game.”
“It was a tough one with a really bitter taste, and it was one of the toughest moments of my career,” explained the 25-year-old.
“I think a lot of those boys in the squad now are new boys. They have their own careers, their own goals and stuff, so I don’t think they’ll be too fussed about it. They’ll just want to go there and win the game. It’s so early in the season and you want to pick up as many points as you can. It’ll be a great place to do it, so I think all the boys are confident going into it.”
Hearts came within minutes of winning the Premiership last season and have recovered from a potentially difficult start to the new campaign.
Their latest result was a 1-1 draw with Nordsjaelland in the Conference League on Thursday, with McEntee scoring the opening goal.
Celtic were also involved in European action that evening but endured a damaging 4-1 defeat against Benfica.
Both teams must now recover quickly before Sunday’s Premiership meeting.
Hearts will undoubtedly have taken encouragement from what they saw in Lisbon.
Celtic were vulnerable when Benfica attacked at speed and were punished for several costly individual mistakes.
Martin O’Neill’s side regularly left space for the hosts to exploit on the counterattack, while their failure to protect the ball in dangerous areas contributed to a difficult evening.
Hearts will arrive intending to take the game to the champions rather than simply defend and hope to survive.
They have already demonstrated that they can win at Celtic Park, recording a 2-1 victory there last season.
Celtic therefore cannot afford another careless performance.
The Hoops responded well to their previous difficult run by beating Motherwell, but the defeat in Lisbon reopened familiar concerns about their defensive organisation.
If Celtic concede possession cheaply and leave the same spaces available on Sunday, Hearts possess enough quality and confidence to punish them.
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