Celtic eye own fairytale as Hearts' story continues to captivate

And so the main event is upon us, the headline act. One week to go and the last of the supporting cast, Rangers, have been ushered to the wings and it's only Hearts and Celtic left in the spotlight now.

A football nation is in thrall regardless of their colours. You don't have to be maroon or green to be stirred by this. You can be blue or tangerine, red or black, claret and amber - everybody has some sort of skin in the game, some reason to be gripped.

A watching audience in the UK, in Europe, and from many points around the globe.

Hearts have spent months dealing with media requests from all sorts of wonderful places, all wanting a piece of the would-be miracle on the Gorgie Road.

That interest will only ratchet upwards now. Celtic have taken care of Rangers and are coming for Hearts. Can Derek McInnes' side hold them off in the final days of a tumultuous campaign?

Thirty-six games down and just two to go. One point and three goals separating the protagonists.

Hearts seeking the fairytale story of a first league title in 66 years and Celtic, steered by Martin O'Neill, looking to pull off a win like few others.

This would be a different type of fairytale for O'Neill in his last week as one of the most storied of all Celtic managers.

Earlier in the season there was only bitterness and rancour at Celtic Park.

The place was alive with the sound of protest, fury directed at the board, thunder fired at the unwitting Wilfried Nancy, the greatest piece of managerial miscasting since, well, Russell Martin at Rangers a few months before.

A title win was not uppermost in the minds of many Celtic fans back then. The trophy they wanted most of all was a resignation letter or two.

While bedlam was breaking out in Glasgow, there was nothing but serenity in the capital.

And now? You can hear their hearts beating from a thousand paces. Fans of both clubs have been on a journey and the toughest steps on that road are now ahead of them both.

Celtic took care of Rangers on Sunday to set up the grandest finale, a round of fixtures on Wednesday and then the last stirrings on Saturday. We've not seen anything like this since Methuselah was a lad.

Image caption,

Hearts host Falkirk on Wednesday, while Celtic travel to Motherwell. Then the top two meet at Parkhead on Saturday

More twist & turns to come

Daizen Maeda was a huge figure in the Old Firm derby, setting Rangers' faint hopes of a late title bid ablaze with two goals in four minutes just after the break, the second a bicycle kick that looped into Jack Butland's net.

They're now done, some of them complaining about a first-half tackle by Alistair Johnston on Mikey Moore that brought yellow when they wanted red, others questioning the legitimacy of Celtic's opening goal. Noise.

Having spent £35m-£40m in the last two transfer windows their race is run. Rangers have a leadership deficit that has cost them their place in the denouement, they have a weakness at their heart that caught up with them in the end.

Roll on Wednesday when Hearts will have a one-point and a three-goal advantage at the top as they host Falkirk. Celtic have to travel to Fir Park, a place that might as well have red warning signs outside reminding all visitors of the danger ahead.

Twists and turns to come? You can almost hang your hat on that.

O'Neill said two wins from the last two games is going to be like climbing two mountains, but if it happens they'll be champions. Not pretty champions, not convincing or easy on the eye, but champions none the less.

Figure caption,

Martin O'Neill post Rangers victory

And his team is improving at the right time. Bang in the middle of it is Maeda.

He's not repeated his imperious goalscoring of last season, or looked all that happy at various times over the last 10 months having had a move to Germany cancelled amid the slapstick antics of what passes for Celtic's recruitment department.

In April, though, he ended a run of 17 games without a goal - last season he never went more than six without scoring. Most lately, there's been a sense of a gathering force. The hustling and harrying, the scarcely human work-rate, the big-time mentality - it was all key to the win over Rangers.

And the goals. When Celtic needed him most, Maeda was there for them. Two in a 3-1 win over Falkirk, one in a 2-1 win over Hibs and now the critical two in the 3-1 win over Rangers that puts them in Hearts' slipstream.

At the break, the derby was in the balance at 1-1. It was tempestuous stuff. Frantic and enthralling. Chances at both ends. What happened next was no surprise. It was the most predictable thing.

Celtic have not been a good team this season, but they've shown a lust for battle, an ability to keep playing and winning even when their performances have never risen above the mundane.

It was a racing certainty that Celtic would remain in the fight. Rangers? It was almost as certain that they would go down and, pretty much, stay down.

Maeda landed the blows. Eight minutes into the new half and Kieran Tierney ran off James Tavernier, whose only answer to his counterpart's run was to stick his arm in the air and hope for offside. That's your Rangers captain.

Tierney's cross was swept home by Maeda and was soon followed by his piece-de-resistance, the overhead kick that nobody saw coming, Butland most of all.

The goalkeeper watched as it dropped in, as impotent in the moment as any of the visiting support. Not a bad time in the season to score your finest ever goal for the club. Not a bad time to be finding your best stuff.

Hearts and Celtic carry on to Wednesday. O'Neill will assume that Hearts will beat Falkirk - he has to think that way. So his side has to get something in Motherwell. A point, or three, takes it to the wire.

Celtic taking the title from Hearts at this stage would be a gigantic anti-climax for those dreaming of one of the greatest stories in the history of Scottish football.

It would be a trauma beyond words for Hearts fans everywhere.

That's what would make it so delicious to Celtic people, a chance to state that even when miles from their best they're still too good for the rest, even when losing ground under the hapless Nancy the blessed Martin got the job done.

O'Neill was measured and wise in the aftermath of Sunday, an old dog who's been down this long road before. He knows that nothing is won until it's won and nothing is lost until it's lost. McInnes will be preaching the same mantra.

Pure theatre. In a word: Wow!