Celtic captain Callum McGregor has revealed that he thinks Celtic must win five or six of their remaining seven games to potentially win the title.
The Hoops slipped up at Tannadice on Sunday as they lost 2-0 to Dundee United. It was an awful game, with shocking performances all over the park, and a lot of supporters accepted that the league title was essentially out of reach after the defeat.
However, McGregor doesn't see it that way, as he believes there still might be a chance. He said:
"You don't want to lose football games, but there's still so much football to be played. The top five teams are really competitive, so there's points to play for there.
We'll see if we need to win them all or not, but I think we have to go on a run. Certainly, you've got to win at least five or six to have a good chance.
We know where we are, and I think now's the time for calm heads. I get it, it's emotional, people will be emotional and angry about the result.
None more so than the players. It's their life, what they give to the game and what they give to the club. But, in a time like this, you need to be calm. We've been here many, many times."
Speaking about the title race in general, McGregor said:
"I think we've probably manufactured it ourselves a wee bit, if I'm being honest. Now there's a big challenge. We've had tight ones over the years, but probably only really two teams [Celtic and Rangers] going for it. Now there's obviously three, and you have to be competitive in every game.
We need to come back from the break, train well and make sure we do enough, get the team looking the way that we want and attack the last seven games and see where we get to."
How many wins do Celtic actually need?
If we're being totally realistic, for Celtic to have any chance at the league title, they need seven wins from seven games to be in with a shot at the title. Even if they were to win all of those seven games, the top spot would not be guaranteed.
The Hoops have put themselves in an incredibly difficult position, especially after the loss to United, and now, it seems as though there may be no coming back. Of course, Martin O'Neill's side could pull off the near impossible and walk away from this up-and-down campaign with another league title, but it is slipping away week by week.
Big results are needed, and there is no room for error. Only time will tell if these players have what it takes in the final stages after the international break.