O'Neill hopes Hoops take confidence from derby triumph into decisive final week

Celtic boss refused to look beyond a midweek trip to Fir Park after the champions boosted their hopes of clinching the title against Hearts at Parkhead next Sunday. For Rangers, the misery deepens.

Sun, 10 May, 2026 - 16:47

Gavin McCafferty

Celtic manager Martin O’Neill told his players to take confidence from their comeback win over Rangers after they cut the gap on Hearts to a point.

But O’Neill refused to look beyond a midweek trip to Fir Park after the champions boosted their hopes of clinching the title against the William Hill Premiership leaders at Parkhead next Sunday.

A 3-1 victory over Rangers put pressure on Hearts following their 1-1 draw with Motherwell, but O’Neill knows they have a major task on their hands at a venue where Wilfried Nancy’s Celtic lost comfortably in December.

Yang Hyun-jun’s equaliser and a Daizen Maeda double earned Celtic a first league win over Rangers since September 2024, but Hearts could still win the title at home to Falkirk on Wednesday.

O’Neill, whose side have won five consecutive league games for the first time this season, said: “I’ve never been confident. People have said to me about momentum, and momentum can get shifted at any given moment.

“We’re doing fine, really doing fine in the games, but we’re just trying to find a way to win.

“This is obviously special against Rangers, but eventually it’s just three points and we can look no further than Wednesday.

“We have to win, we have no grounds for dropping points. I would expect Hearts to win their game. We’ve a really difficult match at Motherwell.

“But I think the run that we’re on gives us confidence to compete.

“And also the fact that we’ve come from behind as well. I know we’re at home, the crowd were brilliant for us, but to come from behind against Rangers and play in the manner in which we did, particularly in the second half, that should give us a boost.” O’Neill hailed the “sensational” Maeda, who looped an overhead kick into the top corner four minutes after firing Celtic ahead.

The 74-year-old said: “His second goal was out of this world, but his whole performance was magnificent.” Rangers were consigned to third place and will now rely on Celtic beating Dunfermline in the Scottish Cup final to avoid dropping from the Europa League qualifiers into the Conference League.

After getting themselves back in the title race against the odds, Rangers have lost three consecutive league games for the first time since 2000.

Head coach Danny Rohl said: “We have to develop our resilience in some moments.

“In key areas of decision-making, if you make mistakes at this level, it’s really tough to take the right results.

“I’ll take the all the disappointment and anger from the fans in the right way. I’m at the front of my group, so I will take my responsibility.” Rohl did not want to “make excuses” after being asked about Celtic’s equaliser and red card appeals against Alistair Johnston.

Benjamin Nygren was offside and standing just in front of Rangers goalkeeper Jack Butland when Yang netted but video assistant John Beaton ruled the Swede was not interfering.

Johnston escaped with a yellow card for a flying studs-showing tackle on Mikey Moore which caught the Rangers goalscorer on the ankle after winning the ball.

“The foul on the pitch felt really aggressive,” Rohl said. “I have not seen it again but some other people have made the decision and we cannot change it now.

“Maybe if we watch it back, and it should not be a goal and it should be a red card, then hopefully someone will take responsibility for it.”

Meanwhile Derek McInnes has called for calm heads at Hearts as they bid to hold off Celtic's ferocious charge.

The Jambos saw their advantage at the top trimmed at Motherwell on Saturday night. Hearts could win the title on Wednesday if they defeat Falkirk at Tynecastle and Celtic lose at Motherwell.

McInnes said: “Wednesday’s going to be such a tough night again, Falkirk have shown their quality throughout the season, so there’s work to be done there.

“We knew we’d have to pick up points on the road, so to pick up four from two away games (since the split) is good shooting.

“We’re still in the spot that everybody else would want to be and we’ve just got to stay calm with that, stay focused on the job on Wednesday, and expect to win the game.

“I think we’ve got to expect challenges ahead of us with these next two games, but you don’t win leagues without really having to work for it, and that’s where we’re at.”