Celtic star Julian Araujo on what he ‘heard’ about title race in Scotland, which hasn’t come true

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Celtic are in unfamiliar territory heading into the final few months of the season.

Usually, whoever is in the Celtic dugout would have a cigar in hand because the Hoops would be about to clinch another Premiership title.

Proof of that is how much Celtic have dominated in recent times, but it’s fair to say that things are far different this season.

So much so that, even for Julian Araujo, he understands that this isn’t the norm for the champions of Scotland.

• READ MORE: Martin O’Neill makes his stance on Celtic’s Scottish Cup allocation vs Rangers crystal clear

How can Celtic still catch Hearts in the race for the title with 14 games to go?

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Julian Araujo on the Premiership title race between Celtic, Hearts and Rangers

On Tuesday night, Hearts beat rivals Hibernian to go nine points clear of third-placed Celtic, who have two games in hand, including against Livingston on Wednesday night.

Araujo told Celtic TV how he had ‘heard’ that usually ‘Celtic or Rangers have already won the league by now’, but that isn’t proving to be the case this season.

“I heard that usually Celtic or Rangers would have already won the league by now,” said Araujo. “This is the beauty of it. Now we have to fight for it.

“This is real. This is what it is. I think having Celtic and all of the fans, if they are with us all the way, we are with them. I know they will be.

“This is unstoppable. I am excited. We will see. Still a lot more football to go. We have the right mindset. We have to stick to it game by game, and hopefully, we can keep going.”

Title points gap in Scotland since 2016

If Hearts win the title this season, then they will break Celtic’s dominance since the turn of the century, and certainly in the last decade.

The Hoops, whether it’s Brendan Rodgers, Neil Lennon, Ange Postecoglou, or Rodgers again, in the dugout, have clinched every title, bar one.

And most of the time, Celtic are doing it in their sleep.

• The points gap between the champions and second place in 2016/17: 30 points difference (winners Celtic, second place, Aberdeen)
• 2017/18: 10 points difference (winners Celtic, second place, Rangers)
• 2018/19: 13 points difference (winners Celtic, second place, Rangers)
• 2019/20: 13 points difference (winners Celtic, second place, Rangers)
• 2020/21: 25 points difference (winners Rangers, second place, Celtic)
• 2021/22: four points difference (winners Celtic, second place, Rangers)
• 2022/23: seven points difference (winners Celtic, second place, Rangers)
• 2023/24: eight points difference (winners Celtic, second place, Rangers)
• 2024/25: 17 points difference (winners Celtic, second place, Rangers)