Michael Stewart spots how Hearts have left Rangers and Celtic 'annoyed' as derby sees Glasgow tension scale up

Michael Stewart reckons Hearts’ derby success will have riled both sides of Glasgow as they cemented their spot at the top of the Premiership.

Tomas Magnusson struck with just a few minutes left to seal a 1-0 win against Hibs, ensuring they’d be top of the league heading to face second-placed Rangers this Sunday. Both the Light Blues and third-placed Celtic were in action on Wednesday, as the former dropped points in a 1-1 draw versus Motherwell, while the latter snatched a last-gasp 2-1 win against Livingston.

It means the points gap between Hearts in first and their weekend opponents stands at five points while Celtic are six back again after their win over Livingston. Former Hearts and Hibs midfielder Stewart was on Premier Sports co-commentary duties and reckons each Old Firm club will have been riled by the Jambos winning when they didn’t play at their best.

Michael Stewart on Premiership title race

Stewart was asked if not playing well and winning was the sign of a possible champion and he agreed, adding that tension coming out of both sides in Glasgow will be reaching feverish levels. He said: “Yep, absolutely, and this game sums it up perfectly. Look at the celebrations, look at the passion from the manager there.

“The changing room will be absolutely rocking after this. As I said before, the disappointment and the frustration and the annoyance along the M8 in Glasgow on both sides will be palpable.”

Former Rangers star Alan Hutton was also on the panel and said: “That's what it takes to be champions, when you don't have the best performance, but you still find a way and you grind down the result. You get the three points and it's huge for this team going forward. Because if they didn't get it, you're looking then to Sunday thinking how big this game is and the pressure starts to build. But fair play to them, they hung in. Hibs had opportunities like the last derby here, but they didn't take them. Hearts came up, a huge moment and they managed to take it.”

Derek McInnes on Hearts 1-0 Hibs

Hearts head coach Derek McInnes said post-match: "There was no quarter given from both sets of players, full press from both teams. They didn't let us settle, we didn't let them settle. On a tight pitch with a greasy surface, players need to concentrate on that first touch and I thought the game was so scrappy at times.

"Both teams played the derby in the manner it should be played but you're looking for bits of quality, bits of calmness. You're waiting for the game to settle and it didn't for the full game. We recognise we can play a lot better and there's games coming up where we need to play a lot better. Derby games aren't always about the best team, the best players, the best passages of play. It's about way more than that, what's under the bonnet.

"For all it was scrappy and untidy, that's the way derbies are. There's been a million of them are. Without the experience we've got missing in the team, a lot of our boys were playing that type of game for the first time. I always feel we've got a goal in us. It's very rarely we don't score. What a brilliant moment for us. Tynecastle was such a beautiful sight."