Martin O'Neill has given his assessment on the title race and revealed the result that he was secretly hoping for when Hearts faced Rangers on Monday.
It has been a difficult season for Celtic, but they have clawed their way back into the title race. The Hoops trail the Jambos by three points, still having to face them on the final day of the season, but this weekend's match against Rangers is going to be massive.
A loss or a draw, and Celtic could be out of the title race. Only a win will be good enough, and then we have to hope that Hearts drop points. O'Neill is aware of this and has admitted that the Celts must win all of their last three league games.
Speaking on talkSPORT, he said: "Rangers are number of points behind Hearts, and there are only three games left, so that would be difficult to overcome at this stage.
"It's not impossible. It can happen. You can still win your games. And there are very difficult matches still for all of us to come through.
"From our own position, we have to try and win the three games.
"But even then, strangely, that might not mathematically be enough, with Hearts having a better goal difference than us. I still think there's a couple of twists still left.
"I suppose probably deep down I was looking for a draw (between Hearts and Rangers). A draw is very, very difficult to cheer on, but that would then have put it in our own hands. As it turns out, mathematically speaking, it's not actually in our own hands."
Speaking about the league leaders and Celtic's season, O'Neill said: "It's actually a great credit to Hearts this season for investing and going strongly at it, getting their noses in front and being able to stay there.
"From our own viewpoint, it's been a tough old season. The players have had a number of managers. I don't know how many times I've come in myself. It feels like about six or seven in the one year!
"But credit to the team, we're still fighting. We still have a chance. There's no question about it. We still have to try and win our games. But it's been a long time since a split game between Celtic and Rangers doesn't constitute the winning of the title."
Celtic need to keep up good form
Celtic have looked good in their recent matches, and they will need to keep that up on Sunday. It's going to be an exciting, yet terrifying match where anything can happen. Three points are crucial.
Hearts take on Motherwell on Saturday, and by that point, we'll know what we need to do. If they drop points, we go into the derby knowing that a win could put us right on their tail, but let's not get our hopes up before that match happens.
There is a lot to come during the week anyway, as we won't be starved for news. We are awaiting an update on Daizen Maeda, who limped off the pitch after the win over Hibernian, and fans are debating who should start up front. Callum Osmand is in with a shout, so there will be a lot of interesting discussion in the lead-up to the game.
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