Celtic defender Auston Trusty has revealed the squad were fully aware of Hearts’ slip-up before taking to the pitch on Sunday as the Premiership title race took another dramatic turn.
For much of the season, Derek McInnes’ side appeared firmly on course for the title, spending 32 out of a possible 36 matchday’s of the campaign at the top of the table while Celtic struggled for consistency.
Eight defeats had left the Hoops chasing for large parts of the title race, but the momentum shifted again over the weekend.
Hearts’ 1-1 draw away to Motherwell handed Celtic the opportunity to close the gap heading into the final two games of the season, and Martin O’Neill’s side seized it in emphatic fashion.
A convincing 3-1 victory over the Ibrox club at Celtic Park moved Celtic to within one point of the league leaders with the Hoops heading to Fir Park for the penultimate Premiership encounter of the season.
Just seven days earlier, the champions had been trailing by three points, but the latest results have reignited hopes of retaining the title for a fifth consecutive season.
Trusty admitted the players had been monitoring events elsewhere closely and understood the significance of Hearts dropping points before kick-off against theRangers.
‘We have to keep an eye on what they are doing’
Speaking via Celtic’s official YouTube channel, Trusty said: “Obviously, you want to say you’re not focusing on other games. But they [Hearts] are ahead of us, and we have to keep an eye on what they are doing.
“Yes, the [Motherwell vs Hearts] result really helped us, and maybe that gave us momentum for this. But Celtic versus Rangers, the momentum is already there.”
Trusty and his Celtic teammates now know that two victories against Motherwell and Hearts will remarkably secure the Premiership title.
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