WITH three fences remaining in the 2026/27 Scottish Premiership race, we've lost a horse. Bye bye, Rangers.

Bank Holiday Monday saw the Scottish capital play host to the biggest game of the season so far with Hearts claiming a massive turnaround victory over the Teddy Bears to restore their three-point advantage over Celtic at the top of the table.

The day before that, Celtic had to get a tough job done at a venue which has not been kind to the Hoops since the turn of the century. But Martin O'Neill's perfect record away to Hibernian remained intact after Kelechi Iheanacho's cool and composed finish gave Celtic a slender victory at Easter Road.

The Hoops travelled to Edinburgh for the lunchtime kick-off knowing that a victory was essential if they were to remain in the title race. After double-red disaster at home to Hearts, early in proceedings the hosts were reduced to ten men for a third consecutive game following Jamie McGrath's wince-inducing challenge on the returning Alistair Johnston.

Daizen Maeda's continued resurgence helped Celtic carve out some early chances, but the opener would not come until minutes before the half-time whistle when the Japanese talisman found the net after Alistair Johnston's surging late run and devastating low cross cross allowed the lurking Maeda to tuck the ball home. Tory MSP and linesman Douglas Ross had used his amazing 20/20 distance/behind vision to see through a crowd and somehow come to the conclusion that the Japanese striker has stepped ahead of the ball. But what Rangers and Hearts have come to refer to as the Vatican Assisted Referee had the easy task of informing Ross that he'd got it horrifically wrong.

But that V no longer stood for Vatican moments later when Hibees midfielder Joe Newell controlled the ball amidst penalty-box chaos and drove past Viljami Sinisalo. It was in theory an even easier decision for the video team than the phantom handball that had just been spotted at the other end. The ball clearly struck Newell on the upper arm and the back of his hand on the way to his boot, and since the laws of the game clearly state that any contact with the hand in the scoring of a a goal chalks it off – regardless of intent or lack of it – that should have been that.

But much to the bewilderment of every pundit and football fan watching in the stadium or on TV, the goal was awarded and Celtic trudged to the dressing room for the half-time rest all square despite their dominance. It's very clearly far from the last we're going to hear about what is yet another Scottish refereeing howler.

Cue the same old second-half story as Celtic huffed and puffed and failed to capitalise on uninspired possession. But cometh the hour cometh the man – again – and when striker Kelechi Iheanacho replaced tiring right-winger Yang with 20 minutes on the clock, the increasingly despondent away fans found new hope. And just two minutes later, Iheanacho proved again why so many of the Celtic faithful are looking to him to produce the goods in the final knockings of a gruelling season.

A near-post Kieran Tierney corner was expertly flicked on by Arne Engels. At the back stick, Iheanacho's chest control was three feet higher than he would have liked and Easter Road seemed to lapse into slow-motion as the Nigerian and a crowd of 20,000 waited for the ball to drop. With two Hibs defenders hurling themselves at his feet, Iheanacho somehow kept his composure to stroke the ball home and send the travelling fans into dare-to-dreamland.  

Celtic saw it nervously out for what seemed an eternity, thus piling the pressure on their two rivals in that Bank Holiday teatime kick-off. Hearts managed to claim the victory with a strong second-half showing and while that was less than optimal from the Hoops point of view, it virtually eliminated the Gers, who are left again to survey the wreckage of another season with another deeply divisive manager at the helm.

Meanwhile, it has emerged that the Celtic Ultra groups, The Bhoys and the Green Brigade, will both be relocated to the North Curve area of the stadium for the 2026/27 campaign, much to the outrage of many whose season tickets will be affected.

The idea of a Celtic End has been floating around for some time now, and was even included in a fan survey, the results of which have yet to see the light of day. Stand-in Chairman Brian Wilson said in a recent interview that fan-club liaison and interaction is being actively reviewed, but it doesn't feel like anything substantive has changed in the attitude of the suits towards their most faithful and fanatical fans.

The Ultras took to social media, airing concerns but also welcoming the change at Celtic Park. They particularly criticised the Board for an abject lack of communication on a decision which will have very considerable knock-on effects on book-holders across the stadium.

The Ultras expressed sympathy for those who will be moved and pointed out, "This relocation transitioned from suggestion to reality in a very short space of time."

The statement added: "We became aware of the email sent to existing season ticket holders notifying them they would be relocated only after it was published. While the turnaround for this move understandably had to be quick, it should and could have been handled better and the club acknowledge this."

But the Ultras also said the relocation was "an exciting step forward in improving the atmosphere and support for the team at Celtic Park." They believe it's a necessary step to improve the game-day experience and hope it will be as iconic and effective as Dortmund's famous Yellow Wall.

The reason for the move has yet to be fully explained by official Celtic channels, but I am confident the relocation was not done out of love for their most committed supporters. But it's a positive development to see an improvement in the atmosphere between the Ultras and the higher-ups. From the club's point of view the Ultras will be easier to observe and manage in a condensed space and the door is unfortunately left open for sweeping bans in the event of future tension without the fear of alternative ticketing making sanctions less effective. Time will tell.

Up next for the Hoops is the Glasgow derby at lunchtime on Sunday, a chance to snuff out the flickering candle stub that is Rangers's title hopes. But before that, on Saturday evening all eyes will be firmly fixed on the evening kick-off at Fir Park as Celtic fans desperately hope that a formidable Motherwell team can continue a tremendous season by taking a point or points off table-toppers Hearts.

But regardless of events in Lanarkshire, in pursuit of eliminating that three-point gap Celtic must adopt a laser focus and keep up the momentum supplied by two difficult post-split victories. That demands a win over Rangers, who have won the last two Parkhead clashes and who have denied Celtic a derby win inside 90 minutes since September 2024. That's a painful stat, but the upside is that it would make a win all the sweeter.

A quick bit of maths housekeeping for a big number of Celtic fans who seem confused by the concept of goal difference. Hearts' five-goal superiority does not mean that Celtic will have to beat them 5-0 if that difference is maintained until the final day clash. If Celtic beat Hearts by two goals, for instance (still a hell of an ask), the goal difference would be cut not to three, but one. And of course if Motherwell and/or Falkirk can take a bite out of that goal difference in the two games before the Parkhead season-closer, then it's all to play for.  

But at the minute the requirement is deadly simple: Keep winning, Celtic, keep winning.