The post-split fixtures haven’t even started, and the cries can already be heard from Hearts and Rangers supporters.
Celtic were always going to have three home post-split fixtures, added with Rangers playing three times away from home, and that was always going to put the SPFL in a spot of bother regarding how they were going to lay out the matches.
In the end, it’s Celtic facing Hearts at home on the final day of the campaign, a fixture that may well determine the destiny of the Premiership title.
Rather than complain as some of the Hearts and Rangers supporters have done, Derek McInnes hit the nail on the head when discussing the post-split fixtures in his press conference.
“We can play in a car park,” stated McInnes. “I can be honest with that. I actually don’t really care from our point of view of where we play. The times, and all the rest of it.”
- READ MORE: Why Celtic could field weakened team vs Hearts on final day and Rangers fans may not like it
Your first thought when you see the fixtures…
How many points will we pick up?
Derek McInnes talks sense over Celtic post-split fixtures amid claims of Hearts and Rangers disadvantage
Ally McCoist has already had a moan, claiming that ‘they are running the thing up here, aren’t they?’ That’s from a Rangers perspective.
Then you have Hearts-mad Ewen Cameron labelling the SPFL a ‘joke’ on social media for scheduling his team to play at Parkhead on the last day of the season.
Before a ball has been kicked for these seismic post-split fixtures, the complaints are already on the table, apart from the man that matters most in the Hearts dressing room, and that’s McInnes.
The football has been doing the talking on the field all season long. Hearts deserve to be top, and Celtic deserve to be third because of how woeful they have been.
And as McInnes put it brilliantly on Sky Sports, ‘we can play in a car park’, it doesn’t matter. It’s now all about who has the mental strength to cope with the pressure.
And the reason why everybody is in this situation is that for the first time in decades, it’s not Celtic dominating proceedings, but a very rare three-way title race in Scotland.
“I don’t think everybody is going to be happy,” said McInnes. “I think everyone has a tough job trying to keep every club happy and every set of supporters happy.
“But for us, we are just excited by the games coming up. I think you look at them, a lot of mouthwatering fixtures. We said that the top six would sort everyone out. These fixtures will. They are brilliant fixtures.
“To be honest, when the fixtures came in, as I said, it was what we expected. We are just delighted to be part of the whole conversation. Delighted we are going to be in and amongst it. Looking forward to the games coming up.
“We can play in a car park. I can be honest with that. I actually don’t really care from our point of view of where we play. The times, and all the rest of it. The fans, it’s not ideal, particularly the Bank Holiday Monday, because not everybody gets the Bank Holiday, so I can see the gripes with that.
“But listen, it has been moved for TV. It has been moved for TV, for a reason, because of where we are in the league. I don’t really want to get too caught up in it that we are unhappy about things. We are excited to be in and amongst it, and excited to be part of these fixtures.”
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