Gary Neville probably did not realise it, but he summed up Celtic perfectly when discussing their dramatic title-winning finish against Hearts.
Too many people still dismiss late winners as luck. Celtic have now done it too often for that argument to hold up.
What Neville described was not fortune. It was pressure, mentality and the expectation that comes with being the biggest club in the country.
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Neville said: “He [Martin O’Neill] has unified them. I was so happy for him. I was happy for him actually. And to be fair also there’s an element of sometimes respecting the fact that the big club gets that last minute winner.
“There’s an element of that as well.”
That is the key point. Big clubs force moments. They sustain pressure longer than everyone else and eventually teams crack under it.
Celtic have made a habit of that this season. They scored six stoppage-time winning goals in the Premiership and reportedly rescued 19 points through late goals.
That is not random. It comes from relentless pressure and belief.
Martin O’Neill deserves enormous credit for that mentality. Neville was right to highlight the way he has unified the club because Celtic looked mentally stronger than everyone else during the title run-in.
Hearts completely unravelled under Celtic pressure
Neville also made an excellent point about the confusion surrounding the Hearts goalkeeper late in the game.
He said: “I mean it’s a brilliant moment for Celtic fans at the end when the lad [Callum Osmand] just runs clear because, you know something, it drove me absolute crazy because the Hearts coach had stopped the keeper going in I think two corners before.
“It showed him going like no, no, no, up once. I mean, what’s the benefit of having the keeper [up for a corner]?
“You might as well shove another outfield player in there and have the goalkeeper at the edge of the box. You know what I mean?”
That hesitation summed Hearts up in the closing stages. Celtic kept pushing while Hearts looked unsure whether to fully commit.
Then came the defining image of the title race. Callum Osmand breaking clear into an empty half before calmly sealing the championship.
By that stage it almost felt inevitable. That is exactly what big clubs do to opponents when the pressure becomes unbearable.
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