McInnes Urges Focus as Motherwell V Hearts Loom

Motherwell v Hearts lands on Saturday night with Hearts three points clear of Celtic and still setting the pace in the Scottish Premiership. Derek McInnes has called the next week the biggest of his managerial career, but his message to the squad is to keep the focus on Motherwell at 8pm.

Derek McInnes and Motherwell

McInnes said Motherwell is “vitally important” and warned against getting lost in the permutations around the title race. “I think it’s so important we just focus on ourselves and you know that’s the message to the players that’s the message to myself,” he said.

Hearts need a maximum of seven more points to win their first Scottish title since 1960, and they have stayed undefeated at home all campaign. That run has kept them in control for most of the season, even with Celtic close behind and carrying the superior goal difference challenge.

Hearts and Celtic pressure

The margins are tight enough that every result in the run-in shifts the picture. If Hearts beat Motherwell away and Falkirk at home, and Celtic take full points from the Old Firm and a game against Motherwell, Hearts would be three ahead on the final day.

Celtic could still tie Hearts on the last day, but they would need to beat them by a handful of goals. That is the complication sitting behind this weekend: Hearts can move one result closer to the title, while Celtic’s route depends on winning out and narrowing the goal difference gap.

Saturday's wider schedule

Saturday also carries pressure elsewhere in the league. Hibs are away to Falkirk, Livingston are at Dundee, Aberdeen host Dundee United, and Kilmarnock travel to St Mirren before Celtic and Rangers meet on Sunday.

For Hearts, the immediate task is simpler than the table suggests. Beat Motherwell, and the chase for that first Scottish championship since 1960 stays in their hands for another step.