Celtic eye own fairytale as Hearts' story continues to captivate

Breaking news from the world of sport: Celtic eye own fairytale as Hearts' story continues to captivate Image source, PA MediaImage caption, Daizen Maeda scored twice as Celtic beat Rangers to move within a point of HeartsByTom English Scotland's chief sports writerPublished1 hour agoCeltic v Rangers highlights10/05/26 Watch on iPlayerAnd so the main event is upon us, the headline act. One week to go and the last of the supporting cast, Rangers, have been ushered to the wings and it's only Hearts and Celtic left in the spotlight now. A football nation is in thrall regardless of their colours.

You don't have to be maroon or green to be stirred by this. You can be blue or tangerine, red or black, claret and amber - everybody has some sort of skin in the game, some reason to be gripped. A watching audience in the UK, in Europe, and from many points around the globe.

Match Details

Hearts have spent months dealing with media requests from all sorts of wonderful places, all wanting a piece of the would-be miracle on the Gorgie Road. That interest will only ratchet upwards now. Celtic have taken care of Rangers and are coming for Hearts.

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One point and three goals separating the protagonists. Hearts seeking the fairytale story of a first league title in 66 years and Celtic, steered by Martin O'Neill, looking to pull off a win like few others. This would be a different type of fairytale for O'Neill in his last week as one of the most storied of all Celtic managers.

Reactions and Expectations

Earlier in the season there was only bitterness and rancour at Celtic Park. The place was alive with the sound of protest, fury directed at the board, thunder fired at the unwitting Wilfried Nancy, the greatest piece of managerial miscasting since, well, Russell Martin at Rangers a few months before. A title win was not uppermost in the minds of many Celtic fans back then.

The trophy they wanted most of all was a resignation letter or two. While bedlam was breaking out in Glasgow, there was nothing but serenity in the capital. You can hear their hearts beating from a thousand paces.

Fans of both clubs have been on a journey and the toughest steps on that road are now ahead of them both. Celtic took care of Rangers on Sunday to set up the grandest finale, a round of fixtures on Wednesday and then the last stirrings on Saturday. We've not seen anything like this since Methuselah was a lad.

The story has climbed to the top of the sports agenda, with fans and analysts following closely.