Ryan Stevenson has tipped Hearts to derail Celtic’s title ambitions in the Tynecastle showdown this weekend.
The former Jambos talisman has thrown his weight behind Hearts to sink Celtic’s championship hopes at Tynecastle – and reckons Martin O’Neill is close to snapping due to mounting frustration with his own misfiring board.
In his latest hard-hitting column for Record Sport, Stevenson has laid into the struggling champions and maintains Rangers are poised to become the main danger to Derek McInnes and his league leaders as the season heads toward May.
Stevenson also believes a failure by the embattled Parkhead hierarchy to properly back O’Neill during the current transfer window has pushed the Celtic boss to the brink.
The top two collide in Edinburgh on Sunday in what promises to be a blockbuster televised encounter.
And Stevenson is convinced an injury-ravaged Hearts squad will land a decisive blow to the champions’ faltering title defence.
He said: “I was there at Rugby Park on Sunday evening as his side struggled to see off Auchinleck Talbot in the Scottish Cup and I’m telling you now, Martin had the look of a man who was absolutely raging at the lack of support he’s getting from above.
“He tried to say all the right things afterwards. He tried to crack a few gags as if he was trying to laugh it all off.
“But what I saw underneath was a man who was saying, as politely as he possibly could during his interviews on TV and radio, ‘I’m f****** raging and I’m not having this!’.”
That display has only strengthened Stevenson’s belief that Hearts can all but end Celtic’s hopes of retaining the title with a victory at Tynecastle this weekend when the league’s top two clash.
Stevenson is set to appear as a special guest on tonight’s episode of Record Sport’s influential online show, Hotline Live.
So confident is he that McInnes can cope without captain Lawrence Shankland and midfield anchor Cammy Devlin that he’s predicted a two-goal victory for the Tynecastle outfit, opening up a nine-point cushion over O’Neill and his squad.
And he expects the main title threat to then come from the other side of Glasgow.
He continued: “I think Hearts will win 2-0 at the weekend. And, although I’ll take a bit of slack on this, if they do lose that game I think Celtic will be done.
Then the only team Hearts need to start worrying about are Rangers.
“The Ibrox side have been flying under the radar but they’re still very much in it. They’ve also recruited ambitiously early in the window and will probably bring in one or two more before it’s closed.
“So If Hearts can open up a nine point lead over Celtic on Sunday then Rangers become the real threat.
“I covered their game against Annan on Friday and it was the first time in a long time that I thought they looked really assured and calm in what they were doing.
“Celtic on the other hand, despite winning 14 of the last 15 titles, look like they’re imploding.”