In a corner of Celtic Park, a small pocket of around 750 fans will gather in the hope of witnessing a day many believed would never come. They will be the lucky few successful in the ballot for the tiny allocation of away tickets as Hearts attempt to make history and win a first league title in 66 years. As if to underline the size of their collective task, they will be outnumbered by around 80 to one. Backed by a home crowd of 60,000, Celtic need any sort of win to lift a 14th title in 15 seasons, while Hearts require at least a draw to become the first team outside of the Old Firm to be crowned champions since 1985.
Both teams have their fate in their hands ahead of the final-day shootout. It’s advantage Celtic in some respects, though it would be fitting of their opponent’s season if they can overturn the odds once more. “Sing as loud as you can” was the message from Derek McInnes, the manager who has led this Hearts to the brink of the unthinkable. “It’ll be hard to hear them but we’ll know they are there. Going into that lion’s den, even though we've been top of the league since September or so, we’re still going to be the underdog. For us to be competing with Celtic, with the money they've got and everything they've got at their disposal, it's a huge effort for our team and we look forward to it.”
