\n<\/p>\n
As the rain continued to batter down at Celtic Park and Nancy wiped the water off his whiteboard, Hearts managed the game effortlessly.<\/p>\n
While Celtic far from threw the kitchen sink in their direction, the Tynecastle side defended tenaciously and stuck to their tactics to secure another statement win.<\/p>\n
Much like the build-up to this game, though, much of the post-mortem will be spent on the champions.<\/p>\n
How did they get into this position? How does Nancy suit them? How do they pick themselves up again for the Europa League visit of Roma and the Premier Sports Cup final against St Mirren next Sunday?<\/p>\n
Rightly or wrongly, Hearts will slip under the radar a little bit again. But is that the way they like it?<\/p>\n
“It will give them that confidence boost because lots of people have said their bubble has burst in recent weeks, but that is a statement,” former Scotland forward James McFadden explained on Sky Sports.<\/p>\n
“Now for Hearts it’s about what happens after this win.”<\/p>\n
It’s a much more straightforward answer than the convoluted ones for Celtic. <\/p>\n
Keep the heid.<\/p>\n
Falkirk are the hosts on Saturday (20:00 GMT) before an almighty festive double-header – Rangers at home on Sunday, 21 December (13:30) and a trip to Hibernian on Saturday, 27 December (12:30) sees out the year for Hearts.<\/p>\n
By the visit of Danny Rohl’s side, who have clawed back to within nine of the leaders, Celtic will have played their game in hand against Dundee United.<\/p>\n
If they are to continue to set the pace into 2026, then they cannot afford to “wobble” in the way they did before Sunday’s triumph in Glasgow.<\/p>\n
But that’s a thought for later. The lasting message from Sunday among pundits and punters – and perhaps silently the players – was “we have a title race”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n