Heart of Midlothian

Brian McLauchlin
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Hearts boss Derek McInnes has been speaking to the media before his side's title decider away to Celtic on Saturday.

Here are the key lines:

• McInnes describes the game as "pure box office" and a "perfect ending to a season for the league, for Scottish football, for drama and excitement".

• He "genuinely thought" the title race would go to the final day and says Hearts have been preparing for that.

• He is seeking one more "big performance" from his side to "create our own history and our own legacy", adding: "The good thing for me is the confidence I feel in the players is so strong. We have to go there with courage, we have to go there with belief, and be bullish with our work."

• McInnes says some people may feel "everything's back on script" and Celtic will rack up another title, but insists: "We've ripped the script up so often this season and we've got one more in us I think. It's up to us to try and make that happen."

• While it has been a "brilliant" record-breaking campaign for his "special" Hearts team, McInnes is to determined to "elevate that" with the club's first top-flight title in 66 years.

• He received a "brilliant message" from Sir Alex Ferguson on Thursday and may speak to him before kick-off on Saturday.

• The Tynecastle boss expects there to be "bedlam" but an amazing atmosphere inside Celtic Park and says Hearts have to "do so many things right".

• On the controversy over Celtic's last-gasp penalty at Fir Park and recent refereeing decisions, McInnes says questions need to be asked about "glaring inconsistencies, a lot of confusion".

• He adds: "But today isn't the day for it. We all benefit, all clubs, all managers benefit from fortuitous decisions throughout a campaign. And times when you think you've been so hard done to. So that's normal. But I do think there's been huge focus on the Scottish Premiership, we're part of the story, that has created a bit more interest. And it's just a pity there's been [refereeing controversy] instead of all the positives."

• He says the "comment and condemnation" about some decisions recently has been "quite telling."

• McInnes is "not nervous" about the game and has "no concerns" over his players: "There's been a lot of pressure on our lads for a long time now. When you're playing for a club like Hearts, there is pressures and there should be. There's an expectation there, but I think the players have dealt with it brilliantly throughout the campaign."

• McInnes says counterpart Martin O'Neill has done "a brilliant job" and is probably the only manager who could have got Celtic into this position.

• McInnes admits the 3-1 Tynecastle win over Celtic in October - Brendan Rogers' last match in charge - was when he believed Hearts could go on to become champions: "I liked the arrogance of the team, the confidence of the team. That was really quite telling for me, I thought there was a wee shift in how we were that day, how we acted."

• The squad will be on similar lines to Wednesday with no fresh injury concerns.

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Former Parkhead manager Neil Lennon thinks "everything is in Celtic's favour" heading into Saturday's title decider at home to Hearts.

Kelechi Iheanacho converted a controversial injury-time spot-kick at Fir Park on Wednesday night to secure a vital three points and boost Celtic's hopes of a fifth straight title.

Currently one point behind the long-time leaders, Celtic will be crowned champions with victory, while Hearts only need a draw.

And ex-skipper Lennon, who won 10 trophies across two spells as Celtic boss, thinks the atmosphere in Glasgow's east end could overwhelm Derek McInnes' side on Saturday.

"I've played at Celtic Park with 60,000 fans at fever pitch," he told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"It raises your game 10, 15, 20 per cent. I think it's going to be so difficult for Hearts to come and get a result. All the momentum and everything is in Celtic's favour now."

It's been a turbulent campaign for Celtic who have been dragged back into the title race by interim boss Martin O'Neill.

They've scored 10 goals beyond the 90th minute this season, six of which have been winners.

"They've dug out result after result all season," Lennon added.

"I don't know how many last-minute winners they've had. People say it's luck. It's not luck, they just manage to keep going.

"They've not been brilliant by any means, Hearts have. Hearts have been incredible, Derek McInnes has done a brilliant job.

"Celtic have been far from convincing but it's going to be so difficult for Hearts to get the result they'll be looking for because all the momentum and the demand will be with Celtic."

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Hearts boss Derek McInnes has completed an individual awards treble by being named Scottish Football Writers' Association manager of the year.

The 54-year-old had already won the PFA Scotland and Scottish Premiership manager awards.

McInnes' Hearts are guaranteed at least a top-two finish and Champions League spot, and can claim their first top-flight title in 66 years with a point at Celtic Park on Saturday.

McInnes takes the SFWA award for the third time - having won it with Aberdeen in 2014 and Kilmarnock 10 years later - and is the first Hearts recipient since Csaba Laszlo in 2009.

The other nominees this year were Celtic boss Martin O'Neill, Motherwell's Jens Berthel Askou and John McGlynn of Falkirk.

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• A win for Celtic in this match will crown them Scottish champions for the 56th time – overtaking Rangers (55) for the most of any side. Indeed, Celtic have won the title in 13 of the past 14 seasons, the only exception being 2020-21, when Rangers won it.

• Should Hearts avoid defeat, they will be confirmed as champions. It would be their fifth Scottish top-flight title, the most of any non-Old Firm club, and their first since 1959-60.

• Hearts would be the first non-Old Firm side to win the title since Alex Ferguson's Aberdeen in 1984-85, and would end a run of 40 successive titles won by either Celtic or Rangers.

• Having already beaten Rangers three times and Celtic twice in 2025-26, Hearts could become the first side in Scottish football history to win six games against the two Old Firm clubs in a single league season.

• Celtic are winless in their three league meetings with Hearts this season (D1 L2); the last sides other than Rangers that the Parkhead club failed to beat in a league campaign were both Hearts and Motherwell in 1994-95.

• Including the curtailed 2019-20 campaign, Celtic have only lost their final league game in one of the past 18 seasons (W14 D3), a 1-0 defeat to Aberdeen in 2017-18. In this time, they have played Hearts five times on matchday 38, winning the past four (D1).

• After their 1-0 win over Kilmarnock last season, Hearts could win their final match in back-to-back top-flight campaigns for the first time since 2002-03/2003-04 against Dundee and Motherwell respectively.

• Celtic have won their past six Scottish Premiership matches – their longest run of the season, while no side has yet won seven in a row in the competition in 2025-26. Should Celtic win here, seven wins would be their longest streak to finish a league season with since 2009-10, when they won their final eight in a row – the last of which was against Hearts.

• The top four players in the Premiership this season for points won via their goals are Celtic duo Daizen Maeda (16) and Benjamin Nygren (13), and Hearts pair Lawrence Shankland (12) and Claudio Braga (12). Only Motherwell's Tawanda Maswanhise has scored more goals overall (17) than all four of those players in the competition in 2025-26 (Nygren 16, Shankland 15, Braga 14, Maeda 13).

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🎧 Hearts Daily: Hearts braced for final-day title decider

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Hearts' fan owners have expressed "extreme concerns" over refereeing decisions in the title run-in.

Celtic faced the task of needing a three-goal win over long-time leaders Hearts on Saturday before a controversial last-gasp penalty award allowed the defending champions to snatch a dramatic winner at Motherwell on Wednesday night.

Now any victory will do for Celtic in the title decider, while Hearts can win the league by avoiding defeat.

Hearts boss Derek McInnes branded the spot-kick award "disgusting", with his frustration compounded by his belief his side should have had at least one penalty in a draw at Fir Park last weekend.

And there was controversy in Celtic's win over Rangers on Sunday when Alistair Johnston escaped with a yellow card for a challenge on Mikey Moore and Benjamin Nygren was ruled not to be interfering with play when standing in an offside position at Yang Hyun-jun's equaliser.

A statement from the Foundation of Hearts, the club's majority shareholder, said: "All of us at the FoH congratulate our magnificent team and manager, Derek McInnes, on their outstanding achievements in this momentous season, and urge all Heart of Midlothian supporters to get right behind them for Saturday's final game of the campaign.

"We have, however, been extremely concerned by a number of refereeing and VAR decisions across the last two rounds of fixtures, which have had a significant impact on outcomes for Hearts and others.

"That this has occurred at such a crucial stage of the season is particularly disappointing. We understand that the club shares these concerns and has made representations to the football authorities seeking clarification on recent decisions.

"At a time when Scottish football is subject to heightened scrutiny, both nationally and internationally, it is important that confidence in officiating standards is maintained.

"We therefore call on those responsible for the officiating of Saturday's match to ensure that the highest standards of decision-making are applied, so that the game is decided by the players on the pitch and the team is given the fair opportunity it has earned."

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Hearts defender Frankie Kent admits it was difficult to stay focused on the football during their 3-0 win against Falkirk given events elsewhere.

When Kent fired in the opener at Tynecastle, Motherwell were 1-0 up at home to Celtic meaning the Premiership title would have been heading to Gorgie on Wednesday night.

A night of drama followed and in the end Hearts won 3-0 while Celtic's late penalty at Fir Park edged a five-goal epic to set up a final-day decider at Parkhead, where the visitors can clinch their first title since 1960 with a draw.

"There was a lot of emotion in the game, especially at the start," Kent, 30, said.

"So I think it probably took us a while to settle into the game because of what could be and what we could have expected.

"One more to go, we've done all we can do, it's just one last push and hopefully we can get over the line.

"We heard the noise [when Motherwell went 1-0 up] and that sort of gave us a little spur on.

"It's quite difficult to hold the emotion and stay concentrated on the game. This season can hopefully change a lot of our lives and be a special season to remember.

"Saturday is going to be one hell of a game and something we can look forward to."

Hearts-supporting MP Ian Murray has backed Derek McInnes' side to win the title "the hard way" after Celtic's "gut-wrenching" penalty set up a final-day decider at Parkhead.

Kelechi Iheanacho's spot-kick deep in added time - awarded after Sam Nicholson was deemed to have handball the ball from a Celtic throw-in - kept the defending champions a point behind Hearts, who beat Falkirk 3-0.

It means Hearts will be crowned Scottish champions for the first time in 66 years only if they avoid defeat at Celtic Park on Saturday.

Speaking on the BBC's Mornings programme, former Scottish secretary and lifelong Hearts fan Murray criticised the "inconsistency" that led to Celtic being awarded the spot-kick when when his own team had been denied "two clearer penalties" at the weekend.

"I don't think that it was a penalty," he said.

"People should throw a ball at each other today and see if they can get a ball to go back out for a throw-in just by hitting it with a hand.

"It just would not do that. And I think it's just the inconsistency of it.

"It's gut-wrenching. It's devastating, and everyone seems to be against us.

"If we're going to win this title, we're going to do it the hard way.

"We've just got to keep believing we can get it, and if we do it on Saturday, all of this have become pretty irrelevant.

"We're Jambos after all. If we didn't have the faith, we wouldn't be there, we wouldn't be wearing the maroon.

"So, I've sent my daughter off to school this morning in her Hearts kit as an act of defiance."

The fallout from Celtic's 99th-minute highly contentious penalty winner at Fir Park rumbles on.

With the score tied at 2-2, referee John Beaton, after being sent for an onfield review, judged Motherwell defender Sam Nicholson to have handled the ball inside the box and awarded a spot-kick.

Celtic striker Kelechi Iheanacho converted to keep Martin O'Neill's side one point behind leaders Hearts and take the title race to a final-day showdown between the two at Parkhead.

Former Hearts manager Robbie Neilson told the BBC's Scottish Football Podcast: "I think it's the magnitude of the decision, the repercussions of it.

"I think in any other game of the season you probably can't say bad decision but because of the repercussions of it, and what was at stake at that point, at that minute in the game, not just for Hearts but also for Motherwell.

"It wasn't a clear and obvious error by a referee so why is VAR getting involved? That's the big question.

"It's a massive swing in the game and it's a hugely controversial decision. This is a decision that will get talked about for years to come."

Former Celtic striker Chris Sutton wrote on X, external: "Now the dust has settled. The reaction from many high profile people is way over the top.

"John Beaton was advised to go to the monitor and saw that the ball hit the arm in an unnatural position. Bottom line is people would hate to see Celtic win the title again and that is all."

Former Premiership referee Steve Conroy told BBC Radio Scotland: "It's a nonsense to think anybody could say that that was a deliberate attempt at a handball.

"This is an indication of a systemic failure from the SFA in how we deal with VAR. They have not got to grips with it. The same mistakes happen every week, the same officials are making these mistakes."

The Herald football writer Stephen McGowan told the BBC's Scottish Football Podcast: "I just think we've jumped through the looking glass with handball rule now.

"You take away the tribalism that surrounds this issue and nobody has a clue what the rule really is and when VAR should be getting involved.

"Can I say definitively that was a handball last night? No. Can I say definitively it was not a handball? No. Can anyone say that with absolute certainty? No. Least of all the officials.

"Therefore you get to the point where you say, should VAR really be getting involved in that? Now I've seen some more angles the ball has struck his hand, but as I say, it is not definitive in any shape or form."

Hearts fans, we asked for your views after the 3-0 victory against Falkirk and Celtic's win at Motherwell which will take the title race to the final day.

Here's what some of you said:

Fraser: Fantastic night for Hearts once again at Tynecastle. The atmosphere was brilliant only to be spoilt by an absolutely incredible decision to award Celtic a penalty kick with the last kick of their game. Ludicrous decision. Can only hope we use that decision along with everything else against us this season to fire ourselves to glory at Celtic Park.

Joe: So close to such a memorable night, but still an amazing win. Frankie Kent showing his quality with the opener, always knew the boy had it in him. A fantastic result to take into Saturday and make history, keep believing.

Brian: Apart from the first 10 or 15 minutes Hearts were in complete control. Alexandros Kyziridis had a great game and looked a real handful and Harry Milne added a creative spark too. Throughout the season Hearts have shown what can only be described as true grit to grind out results and get us where we are. There's no reason why we cant get a result on Saturday.

Lazlo: The world is looking at us and the headlines make for grim reading. Non-penalties given to Celtic and stonewallers not given to us - Scottish football in a nutshell. It's a cup final against Celtic for the league. Their arrogance may be their undoing.

Calum: We have come too far now to give up. I think last night was our best and most dominant performance for quite a while - we simply have to take that momentum and sharpness into Saturday. Believe.

Alfo: A result against Celtic isn't an easy ask but these Jambos bend the knee to no one. The whole footballing world is rooting for Hearts to claim the title honours that their performances this season merit. One last effort and these players etch their names permanently in Heart of Midlothian folklore and beyond.