Maloney expects more late drama in title race | Martinez to Celtic?

It is the Scottish Premiership title race that refuses to follow the same old script – and Celtic assistant Shaun Maloney expects there to be plenty more twists in the tale before May.

On Tuesday, Hearts extended their lead at the top after Tomas Magnusson’s 88th-minute goal sealed a dramatic 1-0 win over rivals Hibernian in Tuesday’s Edinburgh derby.

Over to the chasing pack and champions Celtic looked set to drop points against bottom side Livingston. That’s until Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain scored on his debut to snatch a 2-1 win for Martin O’Neill’s and help them move back to within six points of the top, with a game in hand.

Meanwhile, Rangers looked set to return to within three points of Hearts. Then Stephen Welsh – on loan from Celtic – scored a 89th minute equaliser for Motherwell that saw Danny Rohl’s side drop two points.

Three late goals impacted the three teams battling for top spot, and Maloney thinks the drama will only continue.

“The win over Livingston was big,” he told Sky Sports. “We’ve had a couple [of late wins] recently, even in the Scottish Cup [against Dundee]. Last night felt good and now we’re quickly on to Kilmarnock.

“They [Hearts] scored late as well. It feels like there’s going to be a few more of these.

“For us, it’s felt slightly different, with the amount of change we’ve had – coming in after Brendan [Rodgers] – having to claw back the eight points and then coming back again, it feels like we’re constantly catching up.

“It still feels like that at the moment. Obviously, with Hearts, the points difference and Rangers above us, we’re trying to just tick off each game, and as you can see, each game at the moment is not easy.

“It was a big night last night. I think there are a few more to come.”

He added: “The actual performance was good last night, particularly the first half. You’ve got to respect Livingston; they’re fighting for their lives. They defended the second half really well, particularly their box, but in the first 20 minutes, we had enough chances to finish the game.

“I think you could be critical and say, we should take those chances, more than one. We had two, three, four big ones. But actually, the mentality of the group, when it’s difficult, when it’s 1-1, the fans know the expectation – you have to give the group a big amount of credit for doing that, again, going to the last minute.

“For some individuals, last night, it was a big moment. Yes, we could be more clinical, but the mentality of the group is good. Where the group is at, at the moment, is pretty good.”

Martinez to Celtic?

While Celtic battle Hearts and Rangers in the title race, the club are also searching for a permanent manager to succeed interim boss Martin O’Neill.

The 73-year-old returned to the club after Brendan Rodgers’ exit and again after Wilfried Nancy’s sacking on a temporary basis.

Maloney’s old boss at Belgium, Roberto Martinez, has been linked to the role but the Celtic assistant insists he has not spoken to the Portugal boss over the vacancy.

“I still speak to Roberto, but it’s mainly about how he is preparing for a massive World Cup with Portugal. So, nothing on that [links to the Celtic job] from my side.

“It is so far away from what myself, Martin and the rest of the guys are thinking. I’m pretty sure the board are already starting to make plans for that, But for the rest of us, it’s like every three days there’s a game. We’ve just come out of [a transfer] window too.”

When asked if he might try to convince Martinez to make the move to Glasgow, Maloney added: “No, it’s definitely above my pay grade. I just concentrate [on trying] to make the team better, help recruitment as much as I can, and leave those big decisions to the key guys.”

Watch Kilmarnock vs Celtic on Sunday from 1pm on Sky Sports Football, with kick-off at Rugby Park at 2pm.

Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: skynews.com