Former Scotland boss declares Hearts as title favourites but one thing is certain for leaders and contenders
Hearts have been identified as the league’s current front runners but have been warned of a potential stumbling block.
Former Scotland and Celtic boss, Gordon Strachan, believes Hearts are now favourites to win the league after another weekend when they’ve gained on their rivals.
Claudio Braga’s first half strike was the difference at Tynecastle against Aberdeen on Saturday, meaning Derek McInnes’ side done their bit in terms of their title charge. The following day, Celtic’s late equaliser against Rangers at Ibrox meant for the second weekend running, Hearts extended the gap on both sides of the Old Firm. Hearts are now six points clear of Rangers and eight ahead of Celtic, who will play their game in hand at Pittodrie on Wednesday night.
Strachan thinks after another successful weekend for Hearts and just nine games to go, the title is now there’s to lose, however with the all-important split fast approaching, he’s also warned the Gorgie side that anything can happen when the best six teams in the country are pitted against one another.
Hearts are favourites but be wary of split - Strachan
He told Covers Soccer Betting: “It was a good weekend for Hearts, but this title race is still alive. If someone is only a handful of points off the summit with five to play, they’re definitely still in it. Right now, you’d have to put Hearts at the front of the queue, but the picture is far from settled.
“The way the split works means the leading five will all take points off each other before it’s done – there’s no easy schedule waiting for anyone. Unlike other leagues, you’re not getting a handy couple of games against the bottom sides anytime soon.”
Hearts have a generous run of fixtures before the split as they play three of the bottom four in their upcoming matches. On the contrary, they will have to face the league’s in form side Motherwell twice before the end of the season, while post-split trips to Celtic Park and Easter Road are also in the offing.
Hoops urged to learn to win ugly
Strachan, who won three SPL titles in his four years at Parkhead as Celtic boss, believes his old side need to start finding a way to win ‘ugly’ if they’re to have any hopes of toppling Hearts. The Hoops were 2-0 down at Ibrox thanks to a Youssef Chermiti brace, but an inspired second half comeback saw them salvage a point through Kieran Tierney and Reo Hatate.
The former Scotland boss continued: “Celtic have to play at their absolute best to avoid dropping down the table anymore – there can’t be any in-between now. They need to decide how they’re going to play for the rest of the season. They came up against a very physical Rangers side yesterday and were bullied for most of it, but we saw glimpses in the second half of what they can do.
“They need to continue performing the way they did in the second half. The players need to be braver and understand that to get back into games, they need to do the ugly things like winning knockdowns and being more physical off the ball, otherwise the final few games of the season could turn out quite badly for them.”