Hartley expecting title twists

CELTIC midfielder Paul Hartley is expecting the unexpected this season in the Old Firm’s battle for the Scottish Premier League.

Unusually, the Glasgow giants failed to win their respective league games on Saturday.

Rangers were held to a 2-2 draw by Dundee United in their lunchtime kick-off at Tannadice, leaving Celtic with a chance to open up a six-point lead at the top of the table when they faced Hearts at Parkhead.

However, the champions needed a Stephen McManus header 11 minutes from time to get them a point after Andrew Driver had fired the in-form Jambos ahead in the first half.

“It’s going to be a long season, with twists and turns,” the Scotland midfielder said.

“To be honest with you the Rangers result didn’t have that much effect on us but the good thing was that we didn’t get beat.

“It just shows you the mentality of the squad and the spirit within it.

“I thought we dominated the second half but we could have done a lot better in the first half.

“They came with a game plan and we found it hard to break them down.

“But we pinned them back in the second half and got the goal.” Celtic boss Gordon Strachan arguably suffered a bigger blow when midfielder Shaun Maloney limped off in the first half with a hamstring injury that will keep him out until the new year.

Rangers manager Walter Smith, meanwhile, is confident Kyle Lafferty will continue to prove his critics wrong after he rescued a point against Dundee United.

The Northern Ireland international coolly rolled the ball into the corner of the net in the 76th minute at Tannadice to earn Rangers a 2-2 draw.

The crucial goal was the second Lafferty has scored off the bench in successive games and he later showed his growing confidence with a smart turn and shot from 25 yards that United goalkeeper Lukasz Zaluska tipped round the post.

The 21-year-old has struggled to win over the Rangers fans after several injuries undermined the start of his Ibrox career following a summer move from Burnley that cost the club more than £3million.

But Smith insists Lafferty, who played in an advanced role at Tannadice, will show his worth to Rangers.

“I was pleased for Lafferty,” Smith said. “He took a bit of criticism after a poor performance at Motherwell.

“But he scored last week when he came on and this week too.

“He is going to be a good player. It will just take a little bit of time to settle in.”