- The Jambos go in to this weekend three points clear of Rangers, with Celtic five points behind the leaders following defeat at Dundee Utd last time out
- McInnes is refusing to rule out the defending champions, however, especially with Martin O’Neill at the helm
- Hearts have been boosted by the return of Stephen Kingsley and Craig Halkett ahead of Sunday’s trip to Livingston
Hearts boss Derek McInnes emphatically dismissed any notion that Celtic can be ruled out of the Premiership title race.
The defending champions have been written off in some quarters since a dismal 2-0 defeat — their eighth league loss of the campaign — at Dundee United in the last game before the international break left them in third place, five points adrift of the Jambos and two behind city rivals Rangers.
Asked if he still viewed the Hoops as a threat to Hearts’ hopes of securing a first title since 1960, McInnes responded: ‘One hundred per cent. You wouldn’t discount a Martin O’Neill Celtic team at any juncture.
‘They’re a good side, they’ve got good players and they’ve been over the course. I think they’ve got a fantastic manager.
‘It was obviously a blow for them (losing at Tannadice), but there’s still a lot of football to be played and I think anybody ruling Celtic out would be foolish.’
Hearts are potentially just seven games from pulling off one of the most remarkable success stories in Scottish football history as they bid to end 40 consecutive seasons of Old Firm dominance of the top-flight title.
Derek McInnes expects there to be a few more twists and turns before the end of the season
McInnes argued that no other team in Europe is currently defying expectations in their domestic league to the same extent as the Jambos.
‘Listen, there’s three teams in the league who have overachieved this season, I think: Falkirk, Motherwell and ourselves,’ said McInnes. ‘You couldn’t say that about everybody, but I think us three are probably ahead of where we thought we could have been this season.
‘We’ve now been elevated into a position that probably nobody thought we could be at this stage of the season.
‘I think when you look across Europe, across the world, for a team to have the disparity in wages and spending power as against the other two (Celtic and Rangers), it’s so unusual.
‘We’re probably the only team that could be top of the league for so long and certainly top of the league with so few games to go.
‘There’s teams who have spent a lot more, with a lot more expectation on them in our league who should be at the top of the league, but they’re not.
‘We’re there, we’re enjoying it and we just need to try and keep maintaining our good work for the rest of the campaign.’
After a fortnight’s break, Hearts’ title bid resumes away to bottom side Livingston on Sunday.
The leaders will welcome Stephen Kingsley, Craig Halkett and possibly Stuart Findlay back from injury but Harry Milne is likely to be out until the split with a calf issue and Tomas Magnusson, who had been set to return from a broken cheekbone, has suffered a fresh injury that could keep him out for several weeks.
‘Magnusson had a mask fitted and was training absolutely fine, but he’s picked up a thigh strain now, doing some shooting on Wednesday,’ said McInnes.
‘He’ll miss the game and we’ll get a wee bit further investigation on him to see how he is.’
