Scottish title race: Derek

McInnes defends Hearts’ chances, ‘simple what Celtic must do says Martin O’Neill.

Derek McInnes claims Hearts remain in “strong position” despite draw at bottom club Livingston; “Simple” to know what Celtic must accomplish in title battle says Martin O’Neill after reducing gap between top three to three points

Derek McInnes claimed league leaders Hearts are still in a “strong position” despite squandering a chance to go three points clear at the top of the table with a 2-2 draw at bottom club Livingston.

Celtic’s late 2-1 win at Dundee later on Sunday cut the distance between the top three to three points, after second-placed Rangers worked hard to defeat Dundee United at Ibrox on Saturday to briefly lead the table for the first time in two years.

Hearts’ fate remains in their own hands with six games left in the season, and they meet Motherwell next weekend in their final game before the break.
Despite surrendering points for the second week in a row, McInnes is optimistic about the club’s chances of winning their first top-flight title in 66 years. “We’re still in a strong position,” he stated following their draw against Livingston.

Celtic’s hopes of winning the league for the fifth year in a row appeared to be dashed after a 2-0 loss to Dundee United before the international break, but Kelechi Ineahacho’s winner at Dens Park lifted them back three points off the top, with both of their title rivals playing in the final weeks of the season.

The Hoops’ afternoon should have been much easier if not for a number of squandered opportunities, with Czech attacker Tomas Cvancara particularly guilty of failing to capitalise on Hyun-Jun Wang’s early goal.

O’Neill saw his team’s profligacy in front of goal as the biggest obstacle to their title challenge.

“It’s going to be as simple as this: we’ll certainly create opportunities. “It’s a case of taking them and then defending strongly,” he told Sky Sports following Sunday’s victory.

We can’t afford to go through another half like this year, miss so many opportunities, and then expect things to work out for us.”

Danny Röhl challenged his Rangers team to “remain the hunter” after momentarily reaching the Premiership summit on Saturday, the first time since February 2024.

The German was surprised to learn Rangers hadn’t topped the table in so long, but underlined that the Gers had accomplished “nothing” with six games left.

“Maintaining the right mindset is crucial. We must continue to be the hunter.” We must be on the front foot, and if we win six games, we will have something at the end of the season.

“I am certain that my players have the ability to do this. However, there is still a long way to go, and the upcoming game against Falkirk will be challenging. “We will take things step by step, but we had nine ‘finals’ and won the first three.” That gives us a positive feeling, but nothing more. We need to remain modest and prepared for the next fight.”

McFadden: Impossible to predict title race

Former Scotland and Motherwell striker James McFadden told Sky Sports that predicting the title race is impossible, despite Hearts leading for all but one day since late September. Each of the top three has dropped at least four points in the last five games.

“You’re looking at Hearts, expecting them to win comfortably at Livingston,” he added. “They’re in a terrific position, but they get pegged back and draw the game. Rangers are expected to triumph at Ibrox.

Celtic, you didn’t know if you’d get a performance or just a result. You received the results, and while there were positive aspects of the performance, there are still areas for improvement.

“It just shows you that you still don’t know. You could make a prediction every week and get it wrong.”

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