Claudio Braga is still not over Hearts losing the league to Celtic on the final day.
It’s now been over 40 days since Martin O’Neill’s men delivered a title that had looked unlikely for much of the season, crushing Hearts’ hopes of what would’ve been a historic triumph.
Hearts led an almighty fallout after the title decider at Celtic Park, making claims of assault by fans and slating refereeing decisions. Within weeks of the season’s conclusion, they also lost both manager Derek McInnes and captain Lawrence Shankland to Rangers.
Also being linked away is Braga, who has reflected on the moment when he and his teammates were left in tears.
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Claudio Braga on losing title to Celtic: ‘We all started crying’
Braga told Sportwitness: “It was horrible. Almost everything about the season was perfect.
“Every time we lost or drew, we always responded by winning the next match. We never had two draws or two defeats in a row.
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“But after coming so close to lifting the trophy, and then seeing everything change in the final seconds and Celtic celebrating…
“The season stopped being historic and incredible, because that last piece was the most important.
“We hardly spent any time in Glasgow. We left the pitch straight away because the Celtic fans invaded. So we went straight to the dressing room.
“There was no team talk, we didn’t even get changed or have a shower. We went straight onto the bus.”
“Thousands of people were waiting for us at Tynecastle. That’s when it really hit us. As we got off the bus we all started crying.
“We felt we’d let people down, even though nobody at the club ever expected us to get that far.”
The game was also one of just four of Hearts’ 38 Premiership fixtures in which Braga didn’t start. Asked why, he described it as “50% physical, 50% tactical”.
He is now being linked with an £8.6 million move to French giants Lyon.
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The new Rangers boss is still bitter.
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Leading the disgruntled was Hearts boss McInnes, who blasted the decision as “disgusting” in a hot-headed interview after his side’s win over Falkirk.
Hearts hero Ryan Stevenson also wasn’t happy, labelling it a “disgrace” and “garbage”. Even Gary Lineker slated it.
The media fury reached such a temperature that referee John Beaton’s address was leaked, leading the official to need security around his home.
However, Chris Sutton has called out high-profile pundits for their hysteria, saying that their pro-Hearts agenda is clouding their judgement.
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