The Scottish Premiership schedule often creates its own unique brand of scoreboard pressure, and the upcoming weekend is no different.
As Celtic prepare to face Motherwell on Saturday afternoon, all eyes will not just be on Glasgow. Over in Edinburgh, Hearts boss Derek McInnes is acutely aware of how the weekend’s timeline could shift the momentum before his side even kicks a ball against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park.
Playing after your title rivals adds a distinct psychological layer to any late-season push.
When pressed by Sky Sports’ Luke Shanley on whether the Celtic vs Motherwell result will impact his squad’s mindset ahead of their own kickoff on Sunday afternoon, McInnes delivered a refreshingly honest assessment rather than deploying the usual managerial cliches.
“Of course, we will be looking at that, as you do all the results,” McInnes confessed, fully embracing the reality of the pressure-cooker environment. “You have always got an interest.”
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Derek McInnes will be watching Celtic v Motherwell
Instead of pretending his squad exists in a vacuum, the Hearts manager is acknowledging that external noise.
With crucial points on the line against Kilmarnock, McInnes knows that monitoring the results around them is just part of the modern game as they look to maintain their strong recent form heading into the vital post-split fixtures.
Celtic have had a rare midweek break, after those chaotic scenes at Ibrox following the conclusion of the Scottish Cup quarter-final, as the pressure continues to mount on all involved.
Luke Shanley: “You play after Celtic and Motherwell, but before Rangers play St Mirren the following day. Does that change anything in any way? Do you pay attention to the result before your game?”
Derek McInnes: “Of course, we will be looking at that, as you do all the results. You have always got an interest. But I think for us, it’s just trying to concentrate on (Kilmarnock). There are three points available, and we have to do so much right to get them.
“We all play the same games anyway. But we would like to try to go into the post-split games in good form. Try to maintain where we have been. In the last couple of performances, we have been strong, and we just have to try and continue that.”
How many points to win the Premiership title?
Celtic are used to strolling to the title; it has been proven for the last 15 years, well, for the majority of the time, anyway.
But whilst the champions of Scotland are used to that intense pressure, they aren’t used to being in a situation where a team outside of Glasgow is sitting top ahead of the post-split fixtures.
Usually, you would back the Hoops to win the majority of their games from here, but this crazy season has suggested otherwise, as McInnes was asked about what could be the final points tally.
Shanley: “Hearts can get to 90 points as a maximum. What do you think it will take to win the league? 81 or 82 points. Something like that.”
McInnes: “Who knows? I think it’s difficult to forecast. I do think with 27 points available, there is going to be a lot of twists and turns yet. I think it’s still almost a quarter of the season.
“From our point of view, we don’t see each game as must-win, or if we lose a game, we don’t see that we are necessarily out of things. We have just got to concentrate on trying to get as many points as possible. Who knows what it will take in the end?
“But I do think there are a lot of tough games for everybody in and around it, and that’s before the post-split games. And once the post-split games, it’s normally where everything gets sorted out. We just want to go into those games in good form – and hopefully, still top of the league.”
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