Celtic manager O'Neill says Hearts are everyone's favorite to win title

Celtic manager Martin O'Neill states Hearts are favored across the board to win the Scottish Premiership title, with Saturday's match deciding the fate.

Celtic aims for league win Celtic manager Martin O'Neill believes Hearts are the team everyone wants to see triumph as his side prepares for a decisive Scottish Premiership match on Saturday. The Glasgow club will host Hearts at 12:30 BST, needing a victory to overtake their opponents in the standings. A Hearts win or draw would secure the league trophy for Tynecastle for the first time since 1960. The match serves as the ultimate decider in the title race. ## Controversial penalty discussion O'Neill addressed the controversy surrounding a penalty awarded to Celtic in their midweek win at Motherwell, which kept them within a point of Hearts. At 2-2, Motherwell's Sam Nicholson rose with Auston Trusty, and after a VAR review, referee John Beaton ruled Nicholson had handled the ball. Hearts manager Derek McInnes called the decision "disgusting" and claimed his team was "up against everybody". Other prominent analysts also questioned the penalty, converted by Kelechi Iheanacho. ## O'Neill defends penalty call O'Neill responded to the debate by stating, "It's obviously been magnified because of the occasion as much as anything else. Am I surprised? No, I'm not surprised, because everybody wants Hearts to win. It's really as simple as that. Everybody outside Celtic and the Celtic diaspora wants Hearts to win. And so if it wasn't Hearts, it would be Rangers, it would be somebody else. That's the nature of it." He added, "One, I think it's a penalty. I think he's handled the ball. When you see it again properly, it is a penalty." ## Global penalty rule scrutiny Expanding on the penalty debate, O'Neill noted, "In the wider scheme of things, I think that we, everybody should be looking at this. Throughout Europe, we have seen penalties given when we all think, 'well, that wouldn't have happened years ago', it wouldn't have done. It looks very, very harsh. This should be a major point of discussion in the summer time, to have a look again, to see what they're doing. And I know sometimes in European football, it's a wee bit different to ours, it shouldn't be, it should be uniform. It should be absolutely, it should be straightforward." He emphasized the need to review accidental handball incidents and unnatural hand positions. ## Potential trophy milestone O'Neill could add to his managerial haul by securing up to two more trophies for Celtic. After facing Hearts on Saturday, his side will meet Dunfermline Athletic in the Scottish Cup final on 23 May at 15:00. These two upcoming games could mark the final matches of O'Neill's tenure with the club. He previously served as Celtic boss between 2000 and 2005, winning three league titles, three Scottish Cups, and a League Cup during that period, alongside two heartbreaking final-day title losses. ## Celtic's interim boss reflects O'Neill, now in his second interim spell as Celtic manager this season, stepped in after Brendan Rodgers and Wilfried Nancy's tenures. Having signed Neil Lennon for Celtic in 2000, O'Neill expects Saturday's clash with Hearts and the upcoming Scottish Cup final to be his last games in charge. He signed Lennon during his initial spell as manager, which culminated in a historic treble. O'Neill spoke enthusiastically about the challenge ahead, saying, "Really looking forward to it now and why shouldn't we? It's a big, big game." ## Title decider expectations O'Neill acknowledged the significance of the match, stating, "We have to win it, Hearts don't so the advantage is with them in that aspect but we're going out all guns blazing to try and win. The game's in the balance. We're at home, we have to win. Hearts have to just avoid defeat. It'll be a tough game for both teams." He emphasized that the number of points at season's end will ultimately decide the title. Regarding the atmosphere, he added, "In terms of the atmosphere, it will be electric. There is no question about it."