ALLY McCOIST has lifted the lid on some whispers he’s hearing from a Hearts persuasion.
The Rangers legend has been assessing the state of play in the Scottish Premiership title race and shut down a surprise suggestion he’s been hearing regarding Celtic.
It was a seismic weekend in the battle to be champions this season on what can only be described as a true super Sunday.
The top two heading into the weekend faced-off at Tynecastle in an epic as Hearts and Celtic drew 2-2.
That result opened the door for Rangers to take advantage and Danny Rohl‘s men did just that.
A 3-0 win over Dundee at Ibrox saw the Gers jump above Celtic into second spot, narrowing the gap on leaders Hearts to four points in the process.
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It’s quite the battle and things are only going to get more and more fascinating as the weeks go on.
Rangers icon Ally McCoist tasted plenty of league title success as a player and he has a keen interest in this year’s battle.
And he’s revealed some interesting whispers he claims to have been hearing from some former Hearts players.
McCoist claims that some ex-Jambos reckon the title race is between Hearts and Rangers – effectively counting Celtic OUT.
However, that’s an assertion that McCoist simply can’t get on board with.
He firmly believes it’s very much a three-horse race.
Assessing Celtic’s status as the bookies’ favourites on talkSPORT Breakfast, McCoist said: “It doesn’t surprise me, because what the bookies will be doing, they’ll be taking into account recent history.
“Which I think, rightly or wrongly, that’s what they’ll do.
“Because recent history would tell you that Celtic have been there before, they know how to do it and they’ve now got a manager who compounds that
“He’s been there before and knows how to do it.
“So I think that would have a major bearing in the way that the bookmakers look at things.
“It’s certainly not the way Derek McInnes will be looking at things, or Danny Rohl. Far from it.
“There’s a train of thought coming out now from the Hearts camp.
“Believe it or not, I’ve spoken to a lot of the Hearts lads and ex-players who value their opinion, great players and good football men, who reckon, from what they’ve seen recently, it’s probably between Hearts and Rangers.
“I’m not so sure about that.”
While McCoist certainly isn’t ruling Celtic – who are six points behind leaders Hearts – out of the race, he does believe they have lost their fear factor when it comes to domestic business.
“Celtic have gone from a very good performance in Italy against Bologna, they’ve gone from that back into the domestic situation.
“All of a sudden – and we’ve seen it with Manchester City – they don’t have the same fear.
“I’m not saying they don’t have the same respect for them, of course you’ll have the same respect, but they don’t carry the same fear factor.
“That’s where Celtic are right now.”
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