Martin O’Neill has dismissed claims that Celtic benefited from luck in the arrangement of post-split fixtures. The Celtic manager insisted his team still have plenty of work to do to ensure their title hopes remain intact heading into the final game. O’Neill was speaking after the release of the William Hill Premiership post-split schedule.
SPFL’s Stance on Fixture Arrangements
The Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) stated it could not adhere to convention by guaranteeing the league leaders a home game on the final day when setting the final five fixtures. The SPFL cited several factors. A city derby on the final day was ruled out. Both Celtic and Rangers were unable to play at home simultaneously on 16 May or the midweek prior. With the champions having three home matches left after Saturday, giving Hearts a home match on the final day was deemed “not possible”.
O’Neill’s Response to ‘Lucked Out’ Claims
When asked on talkSPORT if Celtic had “lucked out” in the fixtures, O’Neill responded, “No, that’s the draw.” He recalled that during his previous managerial tenure, the Celtic-Rangers game typically occurred earlier in the schedule. He believes a march planned in Glasgow during the split is the reason that game fell into the middle. Consequently, the Hearts game falls into the last match, he assumes.
O’Neill also pointed out a pro-Scottish independence march planned for Glasgow on 25 April. Celtic host Falkirk on that day. He added that the Glasgow Kiltwalk starts from Glasgow Green the following day, when Motherwell play Rangers at Ibrox.
O’Neill cautioned against presuming Celtic had “lucked out.” He stated, “You might be out of contention by that time. You never know, that’s the point.” He also noted the necessity of three home games to ensure 19 home and 19 away games, saying, “I think that’s the only way they could have done it.”
Focus on Title Rivals
O’Neill affirmed he regards Hearts and Rangers equally as title contenders. He stressed that his side needs to make up ground. Last weekend’s late 2-1 win at Dundee allowed the third-placed Hoops to cut the gap on Hearts to three points.
“I think our result against Dundee last weekend keeps us in it,” he said. “Had we lost that game, it would have been a long way back for us. But we are fighting strongly at this minute.”
- Celtic will play Rangers and Hearts during the split.
- Rangers and Hearts will also play each other.
O’Neill acknowledged the difficulty of the other games. He mentioned Celtic’s home game against Falkirk and away games against Hibs and Motherwell. He considers these teams to be among the best in the SPFL.
O’Neill concluded by saying, “So it’s going to be exciting but for us, not just playing it down, we are still playing catch-up. We are so far away from winning a title.”