Peter Grant has delivered a brutal reality check to anyone still trying to frame Celtic’s title-winning campaign as some kind of failure.
The former Hoops midfielder used his own experience from the famous 1985/86 title race to explain why Martin O’Neill’s side always had the mentality to come through when pressure intensified.
After days of noise around Celtic’s title win, Grant cut straight through the criticism and sent the Tynecastle club a brutal Celtic message that will sting in the capital.
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Peter Grant dismisses Celtic ‘bad season’ claims with pointed Hearts message
Speaking on the Let Me Be Frank Podcast, Grant said, “When we won it, you’re talking about 86, we had to go eight games [unbeaten]. And it was unbelievable how uncanny it was. It was nearly like a carbon copy because we had to go to Motherwell in the midweek game and I think we won 2-0.
“So there was a tension there as well. But we knew we had goal scorers, we knew we had this. But Hearts were in pole position.
“And the one thing they’re good at is defending. They’re not brilliant on the eye, but they’ve got match winners. They’ve got Shankland, they’ve got Braga.
“Those guys can win you matches. So you come to Celtic and it probably worked out perfect for them. They broke the game up in the first half. Exactly what you would do.
“You don’t apologise for that. It’s over the season. But the bottom line, people forget Celtic have won two more games than Hearts have this season.
“And Celtic are supposed to have had a right bad season.”
Grant’s point remains difficult to argue with. Celtic responded to the Tynecastle defeat by producing an unbeaten run through the closing stages of the campaign when pressure was at its highest.
Hearts earned respect but Celtic still had another level
Grant was fair in his assessment of Hearts. They were organised, physical and heavily reliant on Lawrence Shankland’s 24 league goals to stay competitive.
But the wider numbers still favoured Celtic comfortably. O’Neill’s side finished the season with 26 league wins, while Hearts managed 24.
That is why Grant’s comparison to 1986 carries weight. He understands exactly what title pressure feels like at Celtic, and his argument is simple. The noise around performances never changes the reality of winning football matches.
Celtic were criticised throughout this campaign, but when the pressure peaked, they still delivered like champions usually do.
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