Celtic fans quietly confident as Derek McInnes’ ally drops huge blow on Hearts’ title challenge
Celtic supporters will take huge solace after the latest prediction for Hearts’ charge for the Scottish Premiership title.
While the Jambos were held to a 1-1 draw by Dundee United ahead of the international break, Celtic beat Kilmarnock 4-0 to move within seven points of the league leaders, with a game in hand.
Football Insider understands that Martin O’Neill could soon be replaced by Wilfried Nancy, with the Northern Irishman only in an interim period, but he has won three of his four games in charge.
Danny Rohl will hope to keep Rangers in the title race as well, though the Gers are 12 points off top spot after 11 games. The Hoops will be growing in confidence with every game that goes by.
Aberdeen already ruled out of the Scottish Premiership title race
Joe Lewis, who worked under Derek McInnes at Aberdeen and has become a huge fan of the manager, has written the Hearts off winning the Scottish Premiership title this season.
Speaking to the Daily Record (13 November), he said: “He (McInnes) is that competitive guy and manager, and he has done a fantastic job at Hearts. Can they keep it going? No, I don’t think they will.
“I don’t think they will go through the whole season, but they will want to keep it going. When you look at Aberdeen last season… We started in similar fashion and then fell away.
“They will know that and will have that in their mind that they need to keep it going.”
Celtic must sort out the current manager situation
While O’Neill has made a positive start to life at Celtic Park, winning 75 per cent of his games so far, the club need to find a permanent solution before aiming for the Scottish Premiership title.
Of course, there is every chance that the interim manager keeps his spot in the dugout until the end of the campaign, but he needs to know his fate before making huge changes going forward.
The January transfer window is just a few weeks away, and that will be a crucial period should the Hoops kick on and overtake Hearts at the top of the table.
Lewis’ comments will already have handed Celtic some much-needed confidence, and if the club can find the right manager for the remainder of the season, there should be no trouble lifting silverware.