Chris Sutton was absolutely right when he nailed how the external narrative was viewing Celtic’s latest title win.
Celtic have won plenty of league titles in recent years, but this one was completely different. Hearts and Derek McInnes pushed them harder than anybody expected and it took until the final minutes of the season for Celtic to finally get over the line.
While pundits created an argument that this was just another title for Celtic, Sutton was having none of it as he took to social media to slap down the lazy narrative.
Who was your Celtic MOTM vs Hearts?
Celtic were dragged into a real title fight
Hearts led the Premiership for 250 days and arrived at Celtic Park knowing a draw would have delivered a historic title.
Celtic had other ideas and left it late to beat Hearts 3-1 to clinch the title, and that led Sutton to slap down what he’s heard people say about O’Neill’s side winning the league.
McInnes deserves huge credit for that. Hearts were organised, resilient and fully deserved to be part of the conversation right until the end.
That is why Sutton’s comments landed so strongly. He recognised this was not another comfortable procession where Celtic wrapped things up by March. Hearts made them earn every single point.
Celtic’s mentality won them the league
What ultimately separated Celtic was mentality. They won their final five league matches and repeatedly found answers under enormous pressure.
The comeback wins against Motherwell and Hearts summed it up perfectly. Celtic looked on the brink more than once, but they still found a way through.
Daizen Maeda’s late goal against Hearts will be remembered for years because of what was at stake. Celtic were staring at genuine failure before turning the entire season around in a matter of minutes.
That is why Sutton was right. This title mattered because Celtic were finally forced into a proper fight and still came out on top.
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
