Martin O’Neill yesterday looked back on Monday’s match at Tynecastle where Hearts came from behind to beat the Rangers with a spirited second half performance that had the Jambos dreaming of a first title win since 1960. Only Celtic can stop them now!
And the interim Celtic manager’s assessment on that defeat for Celtic’s next opponents was that it is now a difficult task for the Rangers who as a consequence of that defeat trail Hearts by seven points and Celtic by four with just three games remaining.
A doomsday scenario for Rangers…and Celtic too
And with the prospect of finishing third there is also the doomsday scenario for the Rangers of Dunfermline winning the Scottish Cup and in doing so relegating the Rangers to the Conference League qualifiers next season. Just over a week ago the latest Ibrox club were favourites to win the Scottish Premiership and with it to gain automatic entry to the Champions League.
That scenario isn’t actually much better for Celtic as we’d end the season without silverware for the first time since the Covid year when St Johnstone won both cups and the Rangers won their one and only Scottish Premiership title.
Mathematically still possible for the Rangers but highly unlikely
“Rangers are number of points behind Hearts, and there are only three games left, so that would be difficult to overcome at this stage,” Martin O’Neill told talkSPORT yesterday.
“It’s not impossible. It can happen. You can still win your games. And there are very difficult matches still for all of us to come through.
“From our own position, we have to try and win the three games. But even then, strangely, that might not mathematically be enough, with Hearts having a better goal difference than us. I still think there’s a couple of twists still left,” the interim Celtic manager said.
On the Bank Monday night contest at Tynecastle O’Neill said: “I suppose probably deep down I was looking for a draw. A draw is very, very difficult to cheer on, but that would then have put it in our own hands. As it turns out, mathematically speaking, it’s not actually in our own hands.”
Celtic can’t now win the league before the final day
Celtic can only win the league on the final day with a win over Hearts, even if they get victories over the latest Ibrox club on Sunday and go to Fir Park on Wednesday night and beat Motherwell who are sure to be a difficult opponent.
Hearts meanwhile can lose afford to slip up in both of their remaining games ahead of the final day showdown at Parkhead and still be in with a chance of lifting the trophy. For O’Neill it’s all about beating the Rangers on Sunday before turning Celtic’s focus to the match at Fir Park.
If Celtic and Hearts both win their next two matches then a Celtic win on the last day of the season will mean that the title is determined by goal difference.
‘Great credit to Hearts this season for investing and going strongly at it’ – Martin O’Neill
“It’s actually a great credit to Hearts this season for investing and going strongly at it, getting their noses in front and being able to stay there,” O’Neill told his former colleagues on talkSPORT.
“From our own viewpoint, it’s been a tough old season. The players have had a number of managers. I don’t know how many times I’ve come in myself. It feels like about six or seven in the one year!
“But credit to the team, we’re still fighting. We still have a chance. There’s no question about it. We still have to try and win our games. But it’s been a long time since a split game between Celtic and Rangers doesn’t constitute the winning of the title.”
Jim White wanted to know if Martin O’Neill might contemplate staying on at Celtic after the dust settles on this season following the Scottish Cup final against Neil Lennon’s Dunfermline.
“I’ve said it umpteen times, I’ve never enjoyed management! I’ve been out a long time. But of course, there is an enjoyment when you win.
“It’s still exciting, seriously exciting, and it is good. I feel a sense of renaissance, coming back and working with young people, it’s really, really terrific.
“We’ll have to see how we stand at the end of the season, and that’s nearly upon us now,” Martin O’Neill said, clearly not closing the door on remaining at Celtic beyond this season.
1 Comment
As we don’t know what to expect from our own team, on a week by week basis, then twist and turns in this title race was always in the offering.
The consistency in our own performance levels just hasn’t been on show this season, despite getting the winning results, usually achieved in an unconvincing manner.
As our rivals are no better in this regards, might make for a tense and exciting finish to the season.
But in reality, there still remains poor teams in existence within the SPFL, quality wise for a European campaign, and challenging within it.
All the while the quality factor remains at the levels they currently are at, then looking to attract the player’s able to produce and being competitive at CL level, seems like a very long way away for ourselves, as well as our rivals potentially moreso imo?