Derek McInnes said league leaders Hearts were still in a “strong position” despite missing out on an opportunity to move three points clear at the top of the table with a 2-2 draw with bottom-placed Livingston.
Second-placed Rangers defeated Dundee United at Ibrox on Saturday to temporarily take the lead for the first time in two years, before Celtic’s 2-1 win at Dundee late on Sunday narrowed the gap between the top three teams to three points.
Hearts’ fate is in their own hands with six games left in the season and they face Motherwell next weekend in their final game before the split.
McInnes’ side had a much bigger lead at the start of the season, but after dropping points in two successive away games, he insisted the club still had a good chance of clinching their first top-flight title in 66 years.
“We’re still in a strong position,” he said after the draw with Livingston. “We have three of our remaining six games at home, and there’s no question that the next time we play at home, we’re going to have to play a lot better defensively than we did today.”
Celtic’s hopes of winning the league for a fifth successive season seemed to be over after losing 2-0 to Dundee United before the international break, but Kelechi Ineacho’s winning goal at Dens Park restored them to three points at the top of the table and the two title-chasing teams will now meet in the final week of the season.
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Highlights of the Scottish Premiership match between Dundee and Celtic
The Hoops’ afternoon should have been easier, but Czech forward Tomas Cvankala was responsible for missing a number of chances and not capitalizing on Hyun-Jung Wang’s opener.
Coach O’Neill cited his team’s profligacy in front of goal as the biggest obstacle to winning the title.
“It could be as simple as this. Of course we will create chances, it’s just a matter of taking them and defending strongly,” he told Sky Sports after Sunday’s win.
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Martin O’Neill reflects on Celtic’s win over Dundee and how important it is in their title challenge
“You can play whatever you want in midfield, but in the end you have to take your chances.
“We can’t have another six months like this year, we can’t afford to miss out on so many opportunities, and I’m hoping things will go well after that.”
Manager Danny Rolle urged his Rangers side to “remain hunters” after briefly reaching the Premiership summit for the first time since February 2024 on Saturday.
The German was shocked to hear that Rangers had not been top of the table for a long time, but reaffirmed that Gers have “achieved nothing” with six games remaining.
“I was really surprised to be at the top for the first time in two years,” he said. “But the most important thing is that we still have the right mindset.
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Highlights of the Scottish Premiership match between Rangers and Dundee United
“We have to continue to be hunters, we have to be in front and if we win six games we will have something at the end of the season.
“I truly believe our players have the potential to do that, but we still have a long way to go and we all know that next week’s game away to Falkirk will be a very difficult game.
“We will take things step by step, but we have nine ‘finals’ and won the first three of them. It gives us a good feeling, but nothing more. We need to be humble and prepare for the next battle.”
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Watch highlights from the Scottish Premiership match between Livingston and Hearts
McFadden: “It’s impossible to predict the title fight”
Former Scotland and Motherwell striker James McFadden told Sky Sports that the title race was impossible to predict, with all three teams in the top three having dropped at least four points in their last five games, despite Hearts having led on all but one day since late September.
“Hearts will be hoping for a comfortable win at Livingston,” he said. “They were in a great position and got cornered and tied the game.
“Rangers, people expect them to win at Ibrox. Celtic, you weren’t sure if you were going to get a performance or purely a result. We got a result and there were good elements to the performance. There are still things to improve on.”
“It just shows you what you don’t know yet. You can make predictions every week and still be wrong.”
