Michael Stewart has put the blame firmly on Wouter Vrancken’s tactics after Hearts were hammered 7-1 by Celtic at Parkhead.

The former Hearts midfielder was not buying the idea that the result could be explained away by individual errors alone.

Celtic were ruthless, with Martin O’Neill’s side punishing Hearts again and again whenever they turned the ball over. Callum Osmand scored twice on his first start, Camilo Duran starred through the middle, and Benjamin Nygren also hit a double.

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But Hearts’ set-up left them wide open.

Vrancken’s side tried to go man for man against Celtic high up the pitch, and it played straight into the home side’s hands. Every time Celtic broke the first press, there was space to attack.

Speaking on BBC Sport, Stewart said: “There’s then the other side of it, where Celtic have got the ball, Hearts are pressing them high up the park. They’re 1v1 at the back. That’s not on the players. That’s the manager that set them up like that.

“He set them up to go and press Celtic man for man, flood high up the park, and the whole thing is compounded into a 7-1 defeat, which is very good for Celtic.

“You talk about individual errors, you need to ask why are individual errors happening? Why were individual errors not happening in a defensive sense last year? Why are they happening this year? It’s balance is key.”

Hearts did not just make mistakes in isolation. They kept putting themselves in positions where one poor touch or misplaced pass became a Celtic chance.

Against a Celtic front line with Duran, Osmand and Haissem Hassan, that was asking for trouble.

Stewart added: “When you put your team 1v1 spread across the width of a park against what he described as the best transition side in the league, then it’s inevitable that there will be mistakes.”

O’Neill’s side had pace, direct running and players willing to attack the space behind. Hearts kept leaving that space there.

The result was one of Celtic’s most emphatic domestic wins of the season and a brutal lesson for Vrancken.

Celtic still had to be clinical, and they were. But Stewart’s point is hard to ignore: Hearts’ game plan made a bad day far worse.