Into the ‘lion’s den’: Hearts take ‘us against everybody’ approach into Celtic showdown | OneFootball

In a corner of Celtic Park, a small pocket of around 750 fans will gather in the hope of witnessing a day many believed would never come. They will be the lucky few successful in the ballot for the tiny allocation of away tickets as Hearts attempt to make history and win a first league title in 66 years. As if to underline the size of their collective task, they will be outnumbered by around 80 to one. Backed by a home crowd of 60,000, Celtic need any sort of win to lift a 14th title in 15 seasons, while Hearts require at least a draw to become the first team outside of the Old Firm to be crowned champions since 1985.

Both teams have their fate in their hands ahead of the final-day shootout. It’s advantage Celtic in some respects, though it would be fitting of their opponent’s season if they can overturn the odds once more. “Sing as loud as you can” was the message from Derek McInnes, the manager who has led this Hearts to the brink of the unthinkable. “It’ll be hard to hear them but we’ll know they are there. Going into that lion’s den, even though we've been top of the league since September or so, we’re still going to be the underdog. For us to be competing with Celtic, with the money they've got and everything they've got at their disposal, it's a huge effort for our team and we look forward to it.”

Hearts could have afforded to lose at Celtic Park by two goals had the reigning champions been held to a draw by Motherwell on Wednesday night. Instead, a hugely contentious late penalty, scored by Kelechi Iheanacho in the 99th minute, swung the race back towards Celtic. Hearts were still on the pitch as the news from Fir Park filtered through following their 3-0 victory against Falkirk, the sense of deflation evident. “It's hard not to feel that everybody felt a bit flat,” McInnes admitted. “I heard there was a 96th-minute penalty… I didn't need to ask who for.”

The planned lap of honour around Tynecastle, following a season where Hearts, at the very least, went unbeaten at home and have qualified for the preliminary rounds of the Champions League, felt muted as a result. Within minutes of full-time, McInnes looked to rally his team around a sense of injustice. “It feels like it’s us against everybody,” he said. Already aggrieved by decisions that did not go their way in last week’s 1-1 draw at Motherwell, he labelled Celtic’s penalty for an apparent handball “disgusting”.

Celtic were five points behind Hearts following the 2-0 defeat at Dundee United in March. Martin O’Neill insisted his side were not out of the title race and they have won six in a row since, Hearts’ lead down to one point. “Celtic deserve a lot of credit, I think Martin deserves a lot of credit,” McInnes said. “Obviously we've been top of the league for a long time, but like any true champion there's a pride there and you can see that. I think what Martin's done is he has made Celtic more of a team than individuals.”

O’Neill could seal his fourth league title in Scotland, 22 years after his last with Celtic. The 74-year-old has twice taken over a club on the brink of mutiny this season, first when Brendan Rodgers resigned and then again when Wilfried Nancy was sacked after a disastrous eight-game spell. This is not a vintage Celtic team and during an extraordinary campaign that has teetered on the brink of collapse it has felt as if the only thing keeping them together is O’Neill and the memories of the trophies won between 2000 and 2005. He could sign off with two more, a Premiership and Scottish Cup double.

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Martin O’Neill could seal his fourth league title in Scotland, 22 years after his last with Celtic (PA)

"When we lost at Tannadice it was unimaginable for us to get back into the race,” O’Neill said. "I think the players have shown enormous character to keep fighting right to the very, very end. It could go either way but at least we've taken it to the final game.” And what a game it is. “It couldn't be billed any better,” McInnes agreed. “Whoever put the post-split fixtures together, they deserve a lot of credit because it's got everybody what they wanted.”

“We go there confident,” said Hearts captain Lawrence Shankland. “It's a 90-minute cup final. If you offered us that at the start of the season we would have taken it all day.” Hearts have beaten Celtic twice already this season, in the final match of Rodgers’ reign and the first game under Nancy’s doomed tenure. They have yet to face O’Neill, though. “You're going into a stadium of 60,000 and the place will be rocking,” McInnes said. “That type of game, that type of stage, we deserve that. We're not gonna shy away from it.”

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Derek McInnes: ‘Even though we've been top of the league since September or so, we’re still going to be the underdog’ (Reuters)

It is winner-takes-all, with the caveat of a draw favouring Hearts, which may bring its own challenges. “It’s difficult, players are tuned to win, managers are tuned to win,” McInnes said. “You don't go for 90-odd minutes and just play for a draw.” There is a feeling that Celtic will throw everything into getting an early goal and Hearts may need to ride out the initial storm. “The only thing I can think about is when you go away from home in Europe sometimes and you make sure you're nice and solid,” McInnes said. “You don't need to go and win a game early on, but you can be nice and compact.”

In the background, memories of 1986 will linger. When Hearts last challenged for the title at this stage of the season, 40 years ago, they went into the final day needing to avoid defeat to Dundee to be crowned champions, only to collapse to a 2-0 defeat at Dens Park. Meanwhile, Celtic thrashed St Mirren to slip in and nick it on goal difference. It is a story of pain and regret that has been passed down the generations. McInnes and his players are charged with slaying the burden of history, as well as the dominant champions.

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Hearts won at Celtic Park in December and another victory would confirm a historic league title (Andrew Milligan/PA Wire)

And Celtic, with 13 of the last 14 since 2012, have been here before. While they are used to important moments in title races, even their most experienced head in the dressing room was pinching himself at the thought of the comeback Celtic are trying to accomplish. “None bigger than that,” Celtic captain Callum McGregor said following Iheanacho’s penalty. “We know our job, we win the game, we win the league.”

The story of Hearts attempting to break up the Old Firm’s dominance has been picked up around the world and the title race that keeps on giving now has the rarest of conclusions. In Scotland, the last time the top two teams met on the final day to decide the league was Rangers against Aberdeen at Ibrox in 1991, while comparisons can be drawn to Liverpool-Arsenal in 1989, or Barcelona-Atletico Madrid in 2014. For context, though, at that time the Barcelona-Real Madrid “duopoly” in Spain was a mere decade: Scotland’s is 41 years.

It is a heavyweight fight of seismic proportions and, one way or another, a knockout blow will be landed, with history on the line. “Sometimes in life you've just got to go and beat the champion again and take what you want to be yours, whether it's boxing or any sort of sport,” McInnes said. “So that's what it looks like we're gonna have to do. We don't need to win, but certainly need to get down there and put in a performance. It's set up perfectly.”