Another weekend, another twist in the title race. After Hearts and Rangers won on Saturday, champions Celtic were beaten by Dundee United on Sunday — a result that felt less like coincidence and more like part of a pattern.
The top three — Hearts, Rangers and Celtic — have all won on the same weekend only once this season (the weekend of January 10/11). Coincidentally, that was the same trio of opponents they faced again recently: Dundee, Aberdeen and Dundee United. With post-split head-to-heads looming, at least one of the top three is guaranteed to drop points in three of the remaining seven gameweeks. The run-in is shaping up to be bumpy.
Does playing first matter?
Managers will insist they only focus on their own game, but players and staff do check scores, watch other games and read the table. While teams cannot control other matches, they can influence the psychological state of their rivals. A consistent pattern this season shows the team who plays first usually gains an advantage: the side playing later often falters.
Recent examples:
– Celtic lost to Dundee United on a Sunday after Hearts and Rangers had won on Saturday.
– Hearts lost to Kilmarnock on a Saturday evening after Celtic beat Motherwell earlier that day.
– The Old Firm drew with each other after Hearts beat Aberdeen the previous gameweek.
– Hearts beat Falkirk on a Saturday, then Rangers were held and Celtic lost the following day.
That string of follow-up slip-ups — and the fact the only weekend all three won was January 10/11 — points to psychology as much as coincidence. Fans in grounds can feel the palpable tension when their team is responding to a result elsewhere. Fixture sequencing is not fully confirmed post-split, so the exact impact remains to be seen, but if the trend continues all three could drop points before the split.
Key pre-split fixtures
– April 4: Rangers vs Dundee United
– April 5: Livingston vs Hearts (2pm)
– April 5: Dundee vs Celtic (4.30pm)
– April 11: Hearts vs Motherwell
– April 11: Celtic vs St Mirren
– April 12: Falkirk vs Rangers (noon)
Rangers play first after the international break, hosting Dundee United on Saturday April 4. By the time leaders Hearts travel to Livingston at 2pm on Sunday April 5 (live on Sky Sports), they could have been displaced from the top spot for the first time since September. Celtic then visit Dundee at 4.30pm and could find themselves eight points behind by kick-off. The following weekend, Rangers visit Falkirk after Hearts and Celtic play at home the previous day — another example of how scheduling hands the initiative to the side playing first.
Does title-winning experience count?
Celtic are furthest behind among the three but they possess the deepest pool of title-winning experience. James Forrest and Callum McGregor, among others, have multiple championships between them; there are 62 Scottish top-flight winners’ medals in the Celtic dressing room, 73 when coaching staff (including Martin O’Neill) are included.
By contrast, Hearts’ Craig Gordon is the club’s sole title-winner (five medals with Celtic), and Rangers’ James Tavernier is the only player at Ibrox with a winners’ medal this season. Those gaps are unsurprising given Celtic’s dominance — 13 title wins in recent times — but winning many championships and coping with the unusual role of chasing are different tests.
This Celtic squad have rarely been hunted rather than hunting. It’s the first time they haven’t led at this stage since Rangers’ 2021 triumph, and they haven’t been outside the top two after 31 games since 1995. It’s been 17 years since a team leading at this point relinquished the championship (Celtic in 2009). Still, Celtic have handled comparable challenges in recent seasons under Philippe Clement and Giovanni van Bronckhorst, so the club knows how to manage pressure — even if coming from behind is a fresh challenge.
As the most competitive title race in years heads toward its conclusion, psychology, scheduling and experience will all play their parts. Playing first gives the chance to set the tone and heap pressure on rivals; playing later offers the opportunity to respond, but with the added burden of expectation. Whether Celtic’s “mentality monsters” can be turned into hunters again remains the central question as the run-in unfolds.