Celtic and Rangers fans have both given their say as the Scottish Premiership title race heats up

The Scottish Premiership title race looks set to go down right to the wire and both Glasgow giants will feel they have as good a chance as anyone of getting their hands on the trophy.

Hearts remain top of the table and told a five-point advantage over second-placed Celtic, while Rangers are a point further behind in third and impressive Motherwell are ten points off the summit in fourth place. Considering the processions which have seen Celtic crowned champions in recent years, the Hoops will be made to work for it this time if they are to win their fifth successive league title. Rangers, meanwhile, have only won the title once since 2011, and Hearts have only won the title four times in their history, the last coming back in 1959/60.

Hearts boss Derek McInnes has spoken to the press about what he has been told by fans of the Old Firm rivals ahead of the all-important run-in.

McInnes reveals what Old Firm fans have told him about their title hopes

Reported by BBC Sport Scotland, McInnes said: “I live in the west, so I normally get Rangers fans coming up to me and saying, ‘If we don’t win it, I hope you win it’. And I get Celtic fans saying, ‘If we don’t win it, I hope you win it’.

“But I just think it’s one of these things where, for us, regardless of what’s getting said, it doesn’t really matter. It doesn’t really matter what’s getting said or what’s getting spoken about, whether it’s supportive or whether it’s still people… I think there’s still a lot of people out there who think it’s maybe still a step too far for us as a team, as a club, potentially.

“But we can’t really get caught up in that, we’ve just got to concentrate on winning games of football. I’ve said all along, I think we can win enough games to be in the fight. And I think that’s played out, and the business end of the season is still to come but we’ve certainly put ourselves in a position.”

What next for the title challengers?

It makes sense, of course, that fans of Celtic and Rangers would prefer Hearts to win the title than their bitter Old Firm rivals – if their own club cannot get over the line to win the trophy.

Celtic host fourth-placed Motherwell in a crunch clash at Parkhead on Saturday (15:00 GMT), while McInnes’ Hearts travel to Kilmarnock that evening at 8pm. Rangers travel to managerless St. Mirren on Sunday lunchtime and will hope to make up ground on their title rivals.

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