Chris Sutton reckons nobody can call this title race with any confidence now. Celtic looked finished a few weeks ago after the defeat at Tannadice, but they arrive at the final day with the league still there to be won against Hearts at Celtic Park.
The former Celtic striker has backed Hearts for most of the run-in and has not changed his view before kick-off. Even so, Sutton admitted Celtic have dragged themselves back into the fight through sheer persistence rather than flowing football.
Wednesday night at Fir Park summed that up. Motherwell were the better side for long spells and Celtic still found a way through the late Kelechi Iheanacho penalty. The fallout from that decision has dominated the build-up, but Martin O’Neill’s side are still standing when plenty expected them to fall away.
Sutton believes Celtic Park could turn nervous if the game stays tight deep into the second half. Hearts only need a draw and Derek McInnes has built a side that stays in matches. They have already shown that against Celtic this season.
Sutton has seen the shift around Celtic since O’Neill returned and believes the manager has steadied a club that looked badly fractured earlier in the campaign.
He said: (Sky Sports), “Well, you know, I can’t remember. I mean, it’s an amazing game, an amazing day. How Celtic are still in the title race, I do not know.
“And I think Martin O’Neill said after the Dundee United game, Celtic will need to win every game to win the title. And I was thinking, they’ve got no chance of doing that.
“But somehow, you know, he’s instilled this spirit and resilience a second time round as manager.
“And they’re still in there and people are thinking, well, home advantage now. You know, can Celtic get the job done?
“But Hearts have won an early run in the season. They’re unbeaten against Celtic this season.
“And they’re such a well-balanced and motivated team that they’re going to fancy the chances.
“I think it’d be, you know, keeping it simple. You know, they’ve come so far and shown this resolve and resilience.
“But, you know, that doesn’t matter. It’s about getting the job done. And Celtic have found a way to get to this point.
“And Martin has sort of glued everything together and got Celtic to this point.
“But it’s against a stubborn, really well organised Hearts team who have that firepower up front.
“And if there’s a goal in it, say Celtic are ahead and there’s 20 minutes to go, everybody’s talking about the crowd here, but the crowd will get edgy, will get nervy.
“Well, I’ve said Hearts for a while now and I’m sticking with that, but I’m mostly wrong with my predictions. So, there you go.”
The pressure around this game feels different from a normal final day. Celtic need to chase it. Hearts can wait for moments and play with the table in their favour.
O’Neill has leaned heavily on emotion and atmosphere since returning. The reaction to the team over the past few home games has felt closer to his first spell than anything Celtic have produced in recent seasons.
Now it comes down to one afternoon. Celtic either complete the comeback or Hearts finish a title race that has twisted every week for months.
