Hearts fans of a certain age know not to get their hopes up, but most in the media (and the bookies) now consider them hot favourites to win the league title. That status was only achieved in the 91st minute of our game at Ibrox on Sunday. Prior to that moment, Newco were the fancied outfit, they now sit third in the reckoning.
Motherwell are not out of the title race yet. They are two points below Celtic having played the same number of games and still have the champions to play twice this season. The old adage that the best defence wins the league should worry everyone else. Motherwell are incredible defensively, having lost just 5 goals in their last 18 Premiership games. That is title winning form.
Sceptics will rightly say even if they win their game in hand, they have seven points to make up on Hearts (whom they will also face twice), but it only takes one team to combust for that to become irrelevant. I don’t expect Motherwell to win the league, but I don’t expect them to finish fourth either. They have the look of Kingmakers. Jens Berthel Askou has achieved miracles and will surely be Manager of the Year.
God love them. At halftime on Sunday, Newco fans believed they were winning the league. Now many want to sack their manager. They have seen this movie before – notably two years ago. If you want to win the league, you need to eliminate Celtic. They had a chance on Sunday and blew it.
As it stands, they remain strong candidates, but Celtic can change that this week. Win at Aberdeen tomorrow and knock them out the Scottish Cup on Sunday, and watch their fans destroy the last gasp of positivity around the club. When fans turn on their own, it is impossible to hit top form.
Not only would a defeat on Sunday have dented our chances of winning the title, the manner of how we played in the first half was more worrying. Just 45 minutes of football ago, Celtic were not tactically fit for purpose. Coming on the back of recent games against Hibs, Kilmarnock, Livingston and Dundee, a pattern was in place.
I don’t expect us to get it as easy as it way in the second half on Sunday again this season. Callum McGregor and Reo Hatate will not get the room they did so high up the field again. Defensively, we are not good enough, having conceded at least two goals in 7 of our last 11 matches. Unless we can shut the back door and learn to play through the block, more points will be dropped.
1986 was the last year Hearts were such strong favourites for a title, which famously evaded them in the last 7 minutes of the season, breaking a 32-game unbeaten run (36 game season) to allow Celtic to take it on goal difference.
Hearts put an incredible run of results together, but were actually fourth best team in the league. They are the same now. Newco deservedly battered them last month, they struggled for a point against 10-man Celtic at home, and we have already established how good Motherwell are.
For me, the title remains in Glasgow. Celtic have Newco, Hearts and Motherwell at home, with only a trip to Fir Park against title rivals. We have yet to show the form necessary to get over the line, but 1986 has another lesson to give. Celtic did not drop a point after a draw at Ibrox in March that year, taking the title in Paisley. Winning this league is very possible, I’m there for it.
146 Comments- Pages:
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- »
Happy Wednesday eve all.
Almost all.
Burnley78 – Did you get tickets for the games in Boston?
Don’t know about winning the league but with Robertson and Dallas on duty at Ibrox for the cup game this weekend, we are not going to get many decisions in our favour.
Aipple
I have for Haiti but not yet for Morocco.
Cheers Burnley78.
Hotel and flights booked but no tickets yet.
We have our lowest points at this stage of the season in the last 15 years. We are 7 points lower than the disastrous Covid season and 25 points lower than peak Brendan mk2 two years ago.
We have an almighty competitive league because we have come down to everyone else’s level. Our top scoring striker this season has netted 3 goals and two of them were from penalties. With ten games left how many are you confident of winning.
Endlessly complaining about referees is pointless when the people who could stop it won’t, and the people who should call it out won’t.
You forgot to mention after Sunday, with the exception of the Scottish Cup semi-final, we will have one game a week.
All our rivals thus far have had way more prep/recovery time than us.
1986 – a season i remember well, with a stat i did not
“breaking a 32-game unbeaten run (36 game season) to allow Celtic to take it on goal difference”
Another school day for me
Admirable tho the Sunday comeback was, I’m still pessimistic about our run in. Still choosing KTH over GTF tho.
P67 writes; ‘…watch their fans destroy the last gasp of positivity around the club. When fans turn on their own, it is impossible to hit top form.”
Was he really talking aboot the currants or pointing nearer to home ?
Mischievous. Provocative. Apt.
PS: Mrs Quad and I caught Crime 101 at the flix tonight; enjoyable crime caper with the delicious Halle Berry.
I think I would take 81 points right now if offered. That’s 8 wins and 2 draws. Just make sure Hearts isn’t one of the draws!
Really don’t see Sevco or Motherwell getting to that number. And we will certainly need to improve to have any chance.
Paul67 et al
That Full Moon is affecting you badly Paul…..
Check out our results against Hearts in the SPL this season, we have not yet won a game, and we did well to get a draw last month. Hearts have ‘won’ more games than any other SPL club, 4 more than the team in second place, and 5 more than Motherwell. The idea that they are the 4th best team in the SPL is for the birds, or for early doors Moon Howlers. That might not make for the best football analysis…….
But if it makes you happy…..
It can’t be that bad….
Celtic Mac – did you forget Rodgers’ played Murray and Donovan together in defence at Tyncastle, Nancy was in charge last time we played them at home and they needed Celtic to go down to 10 man to salvage a draw last time we played them?
Tuesday 3rd March
I’m feeling exceptionally well today. (It’s only the third day, I know, but all the same I’m feeling great.) I had a visit this morning with two reporters, David Beresford of The Guardian and Brendan O Cathaoir of The Irish Times. Couldn’t quite get my flow of thoughts together. I could have said more in a better fashion.
63 kgs today, so what?
A priest was in. Feel he’s weighing me up psychologically for a later date. If I’m wrong I’m sorry — but I think he is. So I tried to defuse any notion of that tonight. I think he may have taken the point. But whether he accepts it, will be seen. He could not defend my onslaught on Bishop Daly — or at least he did not try.
I wrote some notes to my mother and to Mary Doyle in Armagh; and will write more tomorrow. The boys are now all washed. But I didn’t get washed today. They were still trying to get men their first wash.
I smoked some ‘bog-rolled blows’ today, the luxury of the Block!
They put a table in my cell and are now placing my food on it in front of my eyes. I honestly couldn’t give a damn if they placed it on my knee. They still keep asking me silly questions like, ‘Are you still not eating?’
I never got started on my poem today, but I’ll maybe do it tomorrow. The trouble is I now have more ideas.
Got papers and a book today. The book was Kipling’s Short Stories with an introduction of some length by W. Somerset Maugham. I took an instant dislike to the latter on reading his comment on the Irish people during Kipling’s prime as a writer: ‘It is true that the Irish were making a nuisance of themselves.’ Damned too bad, I thought, and bigger the pity it wasn’t a bigger nuisance! Kipling I know of, and his Ulster connection. I’ll read his stories tomorrow.
Ag rá an phaidrín faoi dhó achan lá atá na buachaillí anois. Níl aon rud eile agam anocht. Sin sin. (Translated this reads as follows: The boys are now saying the rosary twice every day. I have nothing else tonight. That’s all.)
Happy St. Foila Day!
Petition:
One Celtic. Back our Board, Manager, Players and Charity.
https://c.org/kC24nkswRn
Ave Ave
The Blogger Formerly Known As GM @ 12:39 pm,
Well, why would he forget that!?
Do you remember why Colby and Dane were played?
It was because AJ and CCV were injured (also Ralston and Trusty not fully fit).
Remember how you groupies savaged the young Celts?
Weaponised their inexperience to have a pop at Brendan Rodgers.
A pop that turned out to be grievous.
Hope you are proud of yourself…
While you were all back-slapping our Club was going to crap…
This is on you…
Hail Hail
Chairbhoy
It was funny that up until then Trusty had been a dud that BR had blown £6m on. After that he suddenly became the new Franco Baresi!
the blogger
It’s a results business. They have beaten us home and away. None of our three managers have got a victory against them. They over ran our midfield in every game they have played us, including the first half last month. Dont get me wrong, we may well go on to win the SPL, and 5 in a row, but let’s not get deluded on the way there, Martin told us he would rather be where Hearts are, 3 of their next 4 games are against bottom six teams, and they play Motherwell at home just before the SPL split. And they have this week and next weekend free.
Paul67 is entitled to his opinion of course, but he should leave the moonbeams out of it……
GlassTwoThirdsFull @ 12:59 pm,
Yes, exactly, and we are looking so much better without the waste of space Engels:)))
Hail Hail
Motherwell are incredible defensively, having lost just 5 goals in their last 18 Premiership games. That is title winning form.
———————
stephen welsh.
Chairbhoy
Indeed! And don’t forget the huge improvement we are seeing under the far superior Wilfried Nancy…….
chairbhoy
And dont forget both Donovan and Murray have made positive overall contributions since, including in Stuttgart. Some, including me, wouldn’t mind seeing the former, take up Engels position RHS of midfield playing in front of Julian.
FFS Chairbhoy
All GM was saying was that it was not the best version of ourselves which played v Hearts on any of the 3 occasions. No one was having a go at your precious BR.
Calm down.
If you think they we don’t have a chance be Hearts at CP next time then fine. That is up to you.
Some of us feel we might have a chance now. Simples.
Celtic Mac – all fair points, but I still think the circumstances surrounding our 3 non-wins against them are important for context as we “enter the business end of the season” and consider who might win the league.
Paul67 makes a good point that I probably failed to consider, but if we can find some form and consistency I believe we have the potential to go the rest of the season unbeaten.
Like you good self, whatever happens I’ll be able to in the mirror and say I supported the club 💯
At HT on Sunday I would have agreed with the bookies. Today I still agree with them. Hearts are favourites on merit. We are the ones who are hanging on by our fingernails. I would love to think that we are suddenly going to find form, swat aside Aberdeen on Wed and Motherwell next week and close the gap to two points but Kenny is still our top striker this season with 4 goals. It should be an absolute embarrasment for our board to digest that fact. In good years and in not so good years, we always had a forward or two with 20+ goals to their names. Sometimes a lot more.
Up to this point in the season, we do not deserve to win the league. In head to heads with other top 6 teams we have been woeful (for Celtic). We have come down several levels from what we are accustomed to and our board are missing in action.
Has the saying You Reap What You Sow ever been truer?
Celtic Mac @ 1:25 pm,
Yes, agreed.
They need game time but they certainly have the attributes – think there is something special about Donovan…
They certainly weren’t for backing down at fulltime at Ibrox – we need bhoys that get us, now more than ever.
Hail Hail
Glass 2/3
Do you ever smile ? It must be a really tough existence for you being so utterly miserable every day. Trying to find fault with anything our host says.
I will challenge your 80 points.
I actually think 78 points and a good goal difference will be enough.
Likely we need 79 as our goal difference won’t be good. So 1 loss and 1 draw would be all we could afford. As long as loss is not to Hearts.
the blogger
We need to do better than every other team in the top 4.
We need to do quite a bit better than Hearts…..
Burnley78 @ 1:29 pm,
With all due respect I know exactly what he was saying.
The story was placed that Brendam Rodgers deliberately threw the game to make a point to the Board….
The same narrative they gave Roger Hannah of “The Sun”.
Why Desmond Dermot fell for this nonsense who knows? But fall for it he did…
Would it have been so bad to let BR&Co see out their contract? Less than three months left now and a smooth summer transition.
But No!
Hail Ha
Aipple.
Thank you for posting the diaries.
GlassTwoThirdsFull @ 1:17 pm,
Yes – a point not lost on the observant..
We have been told how our wonderful current Board have been responsible for hunners of trophies in the last dozen years…
So how did we fare under…
Ronny Delia
LENNY 2
Wilfried Nancy
Competent enough managers in their own right but not close to being good enough.
Yet it has taken top quality managers like Rodgers, Postecoglou and O’Neill and their dedicated Lennoxtown staff to paper over the huge cracks – this Board has fissured our Club.
Hail Hail
SAINT STIVS on 3RD MARCH 2026 1:12 PM
Motherwell are incredible defensively, having lost just 5 goals in their last 18 Premiership games. That is title winning form.
———————
stephen welsh.
———-
Was in the Celtic away support on Sunday 👍
An old saying :-
“In prosperity, our friends know us; in adversity, we know our friends.”
Personally I bored with all the board stuff. Let’s give it our all, be the best we can be and see where MON takes us.
HH, the journey continues.
Press release: Premiership update
2025/26 final weekend and Round 3 policy for 2026/27 confirmed
The Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) has today confirmed details for the final weekend of the 2025/26 William Hill Premiership season.
Top-six matches will take place on Saturday May 16, kick-off 12.30pm, while bottom-six games will be played on Sunday May 17, kick-off TBC.
The other post-split dates are the weekends of April 25/26, May 2/3 and May 9/10 and the midweek of May 12/13. Post-split fixtures and broadcast selections will be published as soon as possible following fixture round 33 on the weekend of April 11/12.
Ex Celt who we were linked with recently, Calvin Miller of Falkirk, was among Celtic fans on Sunday as well.
https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/rangers/25-brilliant-fan-photos-from-rangers-v-celtic-as-50129-watch-enthralling-ibrox-clash-including-famous-faces-5615911
bournesouprecipe on 3rd March 2026 2:19 pm
SAINT STIVS on 3RD MARCH 2026 1:12 PM
Motherwell are incredible defensively, having lost just 5 goals in their last 18 Premiership games. That is title winning form.
———————
stephen welsh.
———-
Was in the Celtic away support on Sunday 👍
A Proper Striker
Kev
Kirkshaws Kangaroo
So how did we fare under…
Ronny Deila
Ronny Deila joined Celtic in June 2014 from Norwegian side, Stromsgodset where he enjoyed a successful six-year spell, during which he led the team to their first ever Norwegian League title, an impressive success that helped bring him to the attention of Celtic.
He enjoyed a successful first season in charge of the club, steering his team to a League Cup triumph – Celtic’s first success in the competition since 2009 – beating Dundee United 2-0 in the final at Hampden, while his side also won the SPFL Premiership, making it four-in-a-row for the Hoops.
The team did so by conceding just 17 league goals in 38 games, Celtic’s best defensive record in almost 100 years. Of course, the title was also delivered the following season as the Norwegian went out on a high as his Celts made it five-in-a-row as he not only left the legacy of the ‘Ronny Roar’ but also paved the way for the incoming Brendan Rodgers to continue the Celtic’s success.
Honours: League Championship (2), League Cup (1)
00000000000000
Neil Lennon returned to his spiritual home in February 2019, to lead the Bhoys to a historic Treble Treble success, which was then followed by sealing the unprecedented Quadruple Treble – the last of those trophies, the 2020 Scottish Cup, was won just two months before the Irishman parted company with the club in February 2021. That took his second haul of trophies as manager to five – two titles, two Scottish Cups and one League Cup within two years. It also took the club to 12 consecutive trophy wins over four years.
————–
papering over the cracks indeed.
nancy however, an unmitagated disasterous stupid appointment.
Looking at the last 8 league matches – those with MON in charge starting with Dundee Utd on 10th January – the form team in the country is Motherwell.
Motherwell P8 W6 D2 L0 Pts 20 GD +17
Celtic P8 W5 D2 L1 Pts 17 GD +8
R2ngers P8 W4 D4 L0 Pts 16 GD +11
Hearts P8 W5 L1 D2 Pts 16 GD +5
In that context, Celtic have had the most difficult fixtures, with 5 matches versus top 6 sides, versus 4 for R2ngers and Hearts and just 2 for Motherwell.
Motherwell catch that up very quickly now with 4 of their 5 remaining matches before the split versus top 6 teams, including away at Celtic and Hearts. One would expect them to drop some points, but should they come through that run unscathed then they’d be in a very favourable position for the post-split sprint.
Celtic, Hearts and Rangers have just 1 match v top 6 remaining before the split.
The objective for each team is a simple one: get to the split in a stronger position than right now. Clearly that cannot happen for all teams, and it’ll be interesting to see how this cookie crumbles.