Three becomes two in Premiership title race - fan views

Image source, SNS

• Published12 minutes ago

And then there were two.

The fans of the top three clubs have spoken and agree that it is now a two-horse race between leaders Heart of Midlothian and second-placed Celtic for the Scottish Premiership title.

After coming from a goal down to win 2-1 at home to Rangers on Monday evening, Hearts moved seven points clear of the Ibrox side and re-established their three-point lead over Celtic, who had beaten Hibernian the previous afternoon.

With that victory, Hearts effectively ended Rangers' hopes of staging a comeback in the fight for the title.

With seven points to claw back with just nine left to play for, Danny Rohl's side would need the leaders to drop points in all of their remaining games and would need to win all of theirs.

But Rangers can do Hearts a favour by beating Celtic on Sunday to all but end their Glasgow rivals' title hopes. A Celtic loss, coupled with a Hearts win at Fir Park, would mean the title could be sealed with a victory at home to Falkirk on Wednesday night.

• Celtic linked with Leonard and Stewart - gossip

  • Published1 hour ago

• O'Neill says Hearts can be regular title contenders

  • Published20 hours ago

• What now for Rohl's Rangers as title hopes fade?

  • Published1 day ago

Scott Cameron, of the Rangers Journal podcast, thinks that is an added incentive to what is a must-win game regardless of the implications.

"It's about Rangers winning the game for Rangers and the Rangers fans," he told the BBC's Scottish Football Podcast.

"If it's an added bonus that helps Hearts to win the league then so be it. The focus for Rangers should be - win the game and try to restore a little bit of pride. That should be all we can do."

While the Glasgow rivals go head-to-head, Hearts will be trying to get their business done away to Motherwell, a side they have only managed to beat once out of three meetings this season.

Depending on results in the next two games, the Hearts' visit to Celtic Park on the final day could be a title decider.

However, Hearts supporter Liam Corbett, of This is My Story podcast, is desperately hoping that is not the case.

"What we need to do is pretty clear, which is hopefully get to that Celtic game with nothing to play for," he said.

"It's just that situation of you don't want to go to Celtic Park, regardless of how they've been all season, knowing that they have a target.

"Celtic Park will be up, it will be bouncing, Martin O'Neill, a serial winner, the team know what to do, whereas there's our inexperience of having to try get [a league title] over the line.

"I think Saturday is massive because, if we can win on Saturday night, it is literally win or bust for Celtic the next game day."

Celtic fan Paul John Dykes, of A Celtic State of Mind podcast, is hoping that his side's mentality will be enough to get them over the line.

"You look at the Celtic squad and, as bad as we've been this season at times, there is still that identity," he said.

"There's the core group of players who know Celtic, who have been at Celtic since they were eight and nine years old. You can also throw in a few of other guys who have been at the club for maybe five or six seasons, guys like Liam Scales, for example, who know what this is all about.

"It's a mentality that Martin O'Neill spoke about when he came in the first time this season. He called the Celtic players serial winners. So we need to tap into all these kind of margins."

Related topics

• Scottish Premiership
• Celtic
• Rangers
• Scottish Football
• Heart of Midlothian
• Football