Hearts ready to ‘rip up script’ in title showdown.
Derek McInnes believes Hearts can “rip up the script” and win a “pure box office” final-day duel at Celtic’s Park, with the Scottish Premiership championship at stake.
If they escape loss against the defending champions on Saturday, Edinburgh will be Scottish champions for the first time since 1960.
“It’s a perfect ending to a season for the league, for Scottish football, for drama and excitement,” McInnes, head coach,
“It is all about the box office. “We knew we’d need good wins, and Celtic have improved in recent times, so we’ve been preparing for that for a while.” Fair play to them and our boys for creating this circumstance.
“It’s important now that we have that one big performance in us to try and get over the line. The confidence I feel in the players is so strong. We have to go there with courage, with belief and be bullish.”
Hearts will have fewer than 800 supporters at the 60,000-capacity stadium, but McInnes is certain his squad can rise to the occasion after leading since September.
“It’ll be bedlam, it’ll be an unbelievable atmosphere,” he replied. “There may be people out there who believe everything is back on track – ‘Celtic win their home game, they win the league’.
“But we’ve shredded the script so many times this season, and I believe we have one more in us, and it’s up to us to try and make it happen.
“Our players have dealt brilliantly with a lot of pressure for a long time. The game will be huge, different in many aspects, but also exciting.” Regardless of what happens tomorrow, it has been a fantastic campaign, but it could be the most memorable one.
“It’s up to us to try and create our own history and our own legacy with a big performance.”
Celtic lead Motherwell by one point after a contentious stoppage-time penalty on Wednesday.
In the aftermath of Hearts’ 3-0 victory over Falkirk the same night, an angry McInnes condemned the spot-kick decision as “disgusting”. He was also upset when his team was denied a penalty in a 1-1 draw at Fir Park last weekend.
“It’s clear that there are inconsistencies and confusion in our recent games,” he remarked.
“But now is not the day for that. Fortuitous decisions throughout a campaign benefit everyone, including all clubs and managers.
There are instances when you feel as if you’ve been treated unfairly. The Scottish Premiership has received significant attention, and we are a part of it. However, there has been some controversy, which detracts from the overall benefits.
Today, I want to focus on the positive aspects of our situation. “Despite everything, we have a job to do.” And if we do our jobs well enough, we can still get the desired results.”
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