Celtic

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• Since Martin O'Neill's first away league game of the season in charge of Celtic in November (1-0 win v St Mirren), the Hoops have earned more points on the road (20) than any side in the Scottish Premiership (W6 D2 L2).

• Dundee United have lost a league-high 22 points from winning positions in the Scottish Premiership this season. Celtic have recovered 13 points from losing positions - the joint most of any club (level with United).

• After their 2-1 win in December, United could beat Celtic twice in a row at home in the league for the first time since April 1991 (three in a row).

• That loss at Tannadice was Celtic's only defeat to United in the past 25 meetings in all competitions (W19 D5), keeping 18 clean sheets in this period.

• United have earned 52.9% of their points season at home (18/34), the lowest ratio of any side.

Ferencvaros assistant Leandro has urged Robbie Keane to stay at the Hungary league leaders amid reports that the Irishman is Celtic's current preferred candidate to be manager this summer. (Daily Record), external

Celtic striker Johnny Kenny revealed that Republic of Ireland head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson informed him he would need to be playing regularly to retain his place in the national squad before the 22-year-old got the approval from club boss Martin O'Neill to join Bolton on loan. (Irish Independent), external

Como are willing to listen to offers for Nicolas Kuhn less than seven months on from his £18m transfer from Celtic after the 26-year-old winger struggled to break into the Serie A side's starting line-up. (Tutto Mercato Web via Glasgow Times), external

Read all of Friday's Scottish Gossip

Kheredine Idessane
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

In the high-stakes casino of Scottish football, the Celtic board are chasing their losses.

Each time they've bet the house on black, it's come up red. Beetroot-red for embarrassment. Every time they've gone all-in, they've quickly wished they hadn't. Amazing to think then that they could yet break even.

Their biggest gamble was the £40m one: betting that the squad stumbling into the new season would have enough to get past the champions of Kazakhstan.

Kairat Almaty laughed all the way to the Champions League. It set the tone for a season that lurched from one crisis to the next.

The next big punt was arguably stranger still. When Brendan Rodgers resigned and the club sounded the horn for Martin O'Neill's remarkable return, Celtic then beat a path to the door of someone who had never managed in Europe.

At a time when, lest we forget, the legendary interim manager was already doing a spectacular job of saving the season. The Wilfried Nancy gamble haunts the club still.

Yet again O'Neill had to don the overalls and dig his old club out of another hole. His spadework ain't done yet.

Which brings us to the final bit of boardroom poker. In the face of an injury-hit, tiring, threadbare squad, what to do in January? Splash the cash to try to deliver the title? Or bet the house on loans, and O'Neill's managerial nous, to get the job done?

It must be the first time the Celtic powerbrokers actually like the look of their hand. No big cheques written to acquire Joel Mvuka and Junior Adamu. Phew. Tomas Cvancara has made a few telling contributions, with a big assist at Tynecastle and big penalties against Rangers and Motherwell.

Julian Araujo would be welcomed back with open arms were Celtic able to afford Bournemouth's price. Brentford probably have bigger plans for Benjamin Arthur but if he returned to Celtic, even on loan again, there is a player there for sure.

Derided by sections of the fanbase for their continuing parsimony, it would appear the Celtic board may have the last laugh.

The veteran boss they've twice turned to has the club one win from the Scottish Cup final with managerless St Mirren standing in their way. O'Neill has also hunted Hearts down to within a couple of points, restoring Celtic's title destiny to their own hands.

Win eight games and the title stays at Parkhead. They may not even need to be perfect in the run-in.

What appeared a latest needless gamble could yet end up with Celtic hitting the jackpot: a 14th title in 15 years and a clean slate for the next manager to draw on.

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Was Martin O'Neill trying to protect Celtic goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel by not revealing the extent of his injury?

The 39-year-old last featured for O'Neill's side on 22 February but has since revealed he is facing 10-12 months out as he requires surgery on an ongoing shoulder injury.

And the former Leicester City goalkeeper, whose Celtic contract expires at the end of this season, has admitted the issue could be career ending.

But there has been no official communication from the club and O'Neill suggested in his pre-Motherwell press conference last week that the goalkeeper had been training and could have even made the matchday squad.

"It sounds as if Martin O'Neill has been trying to protect the player a bit in terms of not revealing something he didn't want revealed," said Stephen McGowan, football writer with The Heraldn, on the BBC's Scottish Football Podcast.

"It's been a sensitive situation.

"There's two sides to this because Schmeichel has not been in good form for quite some time. We've seen some pretty high-profile mistakes. You go back to the Scottish Cup final last May where he kind of threw one in against Aberdeen.

"It's been a series of mistakes this season as well.

"He didn't have a great performance against Rangers when Celtic lost 3-1 at home. There were a couple of goals against Stuttgart when they lost 4-1 where he looked slow to get down and it looked as if there was an evident physical issue there that was impeding his ability to move freely. And now we know what that is.

"So I think there are some supporters saying, well, how long has this been evident for and why was it not detected sooner? Because if it had been then it might have made a difference to Celtic season, they might not have been in quite the difficult situation they are in now.

"The flip side to is it's a real shame for the player himself. He's had a brilliant career, a decorated career, he's 39 and all of a sudden he's staring down the barrel of the end. It looks as if his career might well be over. So it's a real personal shame for him.

"It's a shame for Celtic as well that they didn't get to the heart of it sooner because if they had, the season might be in slightly more healthy place than it is now."

Celtic fans, what do you make of the Schmeichel situation? Tell us your views here.

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Former referee Steve Conroy thinks it is "mission creep" with VAR in Scottish football before new changes to the laws for the upcoming World Cup.

VAR was introduced in Scotland almost four years ago but has frequently been criticised by fans, players, managers and former players.

Now there could be more changes to the scope of technology as football's law-making body the International Football Association Board (Ifab) backed plans to increase the powers of VAR.

For this summer's World Cup in America, VAR will be allowed to intervene on second yellow cards and the awarding of corners, provided the process doesn't slow down the flow of play.

Ifab has also expanded the countdown rule around goalkeepers where they have eight seconds to release the ball from their hands to include goal kicks and throw-ins.

But former referee Conroy thinks involving the technology in more decision-making is bad news for the game.

"It's inescapable that there is more and more mission creep with VAR," he told the BBC's Scottish Football Podcast.

"The authorities seem hell-bent on using it more and more and relying on it and I think that is to the detriment of football.

"I know Ifab are talking about getting them involved for corners and second yellows and all that sort of stuff. As [Celtic interim manager] Martin O'Neill said, soon enough we'll just referee from a port-a-cabin somewhere.

"And this is all happening at the same time as every football supporter survey tells you that they just want it binned."

Robbie Keane, reportedly one of the frontrunners for the permanent Celtic job, says he has completed his job at Ferencvaros. (Daily Record)

Another Celtic contender, Portugal boss Roberto Martinez, has made it clear to potential suitors that he will not consider his next job until after the World Cup. (Daily Record)

Tomas Cvancara's agent David Nehoda has hit back at Czech Republic manager Miroslav Koubek, who left the on-loan Celtic striker out of his squad because he said he did not view his international career as a priority. (The Herald)

Rangers are keeping tabs on Motherwell's Elijah Just - with Celtic also keen on the New Zealand playmaker. (Daily Record)

Benjamin Arthur said he asked Rangers defender Jayden Meghoma about life in Glasgow before joining Celtic from Brentford on a loan deal until the end of the season. (Scottish Sun)

Read the rest of Thursday's gossip.

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Aiden McGeady has sympathy for Kasper Schmeichel as his career hangs in the balance - but says it was "unfair" on Celtic for the goalkeeper to play while injured.

The Denmark international has revealed he might have played his last game because of a serious shoulder problem that requires two surgeries.

Schmeichel told CBS Sports Golazo that since breaking his shoulder on international duty a year ago, he has suffered "after-effects that have been hard to live with and play with".

The 39-year-old, who is out of contract in the summer, has missed Celtic's past five matches and faces up to a year of recovery.

Former Celtic winger McGeady told BBC Scotland: "My reaction was one of shock, to be honest, but a bit of sympathy as well because it's never nice to potentially be staring at retirement, especially when it's not in your own terms.

"Kasper in his first season at Celtic, I think he was fantastic. He was getting a lot of plaudits and a lot of praise and rightly so.

"This season he's come in for some criticism, some just, some unjust, but there was a bit of a drop-off in his performances. I think that was noticeable for everybody.

"I think probably what was on his mind was the potential of the World Cup and his contract's up at the end of the season as well. But everybody involved in football has played with an injury. Everybody's done it.

"But it does make you think it's unfair on the club itself and the team because you have a player playing with an injury for a long term and it's making a marked adjustment on his performances and it's very difficult for a club.

"Celtic are in a different position to what they've been in previous seasons, but you're needing every single player as close to 100% as you can get.

"You can't really be carrying any passengers and essentially we've been told it has been happening this season, which is a shame really because he doesn't want his career to end like this.

"I wouldn't want that either, but it might leave a bit of a sour taste with some of the fans and potentially some of the staff as well who might have been unaware of the extent of the injury he's had."

Charlotte Cohen
BBC Sport Scotland

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Having just said goodbye to one English Premier League winning goalkeeper in Joe Hart, Celtic welcomed another into their ranks.

Kasper Schmeichel, winner of the Premier League and FA Cup with Leicester City, joined Celtic in summer of 2024 to reunite with his former Foxes boss Brendan Rodgers, who had just secured a domestic double in his first season back at Parkhead.

The Denmark international has now revealed he may be forced to retire by injury, so how does his Celtic career stack up?

It all started so well for the Dane. He did not concede a goal in his opening six league matches - breaking a 118-year club record - and had silverware before the end of the year as Celtic outlasted Rangers in an epic League Cup final.

The sides were locked at 3-3 after extra time, with Schmeichel saving Ridvan Yilmaz's spot-kick to allow Daizen Maeda to score the winning penalty.

Schmeichel signed a new one-year contract a few weeks later and was a pillar of the Celtic team who cantered to their 55th league title, finishing 17 points of second-place Rangers.

He played 32 Premiership games last term, conceded 21 goals and made 73 saves for a save rate of over 76% - better than any other top-flight keeper who was playing regularly. Schmeichel kept a Premiership-high 19 clean sheets (Dundee United's Jack Walton was next on 12).

The Celtic keeper was only conceding a goal every 131 minutes on average - and he prevented 1.7 goals.

A treble beckoned to cap Schmeichel's memorable debut campaign in Glasgow but that dream turned into a nightmare for the 39-year-old.

Celtic went into the Scottish Cup final against Aberdeen as heavy favourites and were in control thanks to Alfie Dorrington's own goal just before the break.

But with 83 minutes gone, substitute Shayden Morris played a teasing cross that was inexplicably diverted into his own net net by Schmeichel. Celtic went on to lose in the shootout.

That was a blow from which Schmeichel has never really recovered. Hampered by a shoulder injury that now requires two operations, he has struggled for form this season and made a string of high-profile mistakes.

In the league, Schmeichel has played 26 games and conceded 26 goals - two of those have been own goals.

While he has made 60 saves, his save percentage has dropped to below 70%. And while last season he prevented 1.7 goals, this season that stat is at -0.9. That means he has conceded more than expected given the quality of shots faced.

In a chaotic Celtic season on and off the pitch, Schmeichel has looked unconvincing and his list of suspect goals conceded includes defeats to Rangers, Motherwell and Kilmarnock.

His nadir came in the 4-1 home trouncing by Stuttgart in the Europa League knockout round play-off first leg last month.

The Germans' first and third goals looked to be Schmeichel's fault and the goalkeeper later revealed it was during that game he reaggravated a shoulder injury suffered playing for Denmark against Portugal last year.

Despite that, he played three days later in the 2-1 defeat to Hibernian that dealt a major blow to Celtic's title chances.

That was the last game Schmeichel - who is out of contract this summer - played for the club and could be the final outing of his career. His overall Celtic records stands at 88 appearances, 96 goals conceded, 38 clean sheets and two trophies.

Tino
Fan writer

The past few days have felt like a full-blown Jens Berthel Askou media blitz. And as Celtic fans it would be foolish to ignore it.

Two standout pieces dropped that put the Motherwell boss firmly in the spotlight, sparking fresh debate over whether he's a genuine contender for the Celtic hotseat this summer.

And regardless of where you land on that argument, one thing is undeniable. Askou has worked wonders at Fir Park on a shoestring budget.

So naturally, the question follows - what could he do with Celtic-level resources?

The first piece, a deep dive from The Athletic, external, breaks down Askou's philosophy, his attention to detail and the transformation he has overseen since arriving last summer.

It's the kind of analysis that makes you sit up and think he is someone we should seriously be considering.

Then there's the more personal angle - an hour-long sitdown with Askou on Open Goal, external. If the Athletic piece shows the coach, this shows the man. His journey, his mindset and the clarity in how he explains his approach all jump out.

It is compelling viewing and you start to understand why his stock is rising so quickly.

Of course, we've debated it on The Celtic Exchange, external - and opinions were split.

There are valid concerns. Askou's Motherwell have impressed, but results against the league's top sides remain inconsistent. Yes, they beat us in December and they've also drawn twice with Hearts and twice with Rangers - but can he take it to that next level?

Others are more open to it - but question whether he would get the time required at Celtic to fully implement his brand of football.

And with patience currently in short supply around Celtic Park, that's a fair point.

Still, there's a growing sense Celtic should at least be having the conversation with the Dane, who is reported to be very open to taking on a job of such size.

And with just over two months of the season left, Celtic must already be planning for what comes next.

For most of us, the dream scenario is clear. Martin O'Neill leading us out at Hampden for the Scottish Cup final on 23 May having already secured the league title.

And if it's to be his final act as Celtic boss, what a swansong that would be.

But O'Neill's thoughts on remaining in place beyond May regardless are less clear. And so the club in all likelihood have a decision to make.

Askou may not be the obvious choice. He may not even be the safe choice. But he's an intriguing one.

And if he can cap off this season with a few more big results against others in the top six, his audition might just become impossible to ignore.

"Mercedes-Jens" as the Motherwell fans call him, may well be the real deal.

Tino can be found at The Celtic Exchange, external

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Chris Sutton says Hearts are still favourites for the Scottish Premiership title, despite "remarkable" Martin O'Neill continuing to find a way to win with Celtic.

The Jambos' advantage has been cut to two points following their weekend defeat at Kilmarnock, with nearest challengers Celtic fighting back to beat 10-man Motherwell.

Rangers' narrow victory at St Mirren on Sunday means the Ibrox side are now just three points off the summit and one behind their city rivals.

However, former Celtic striker Sutton believes Derek McInnes' leaders are still in the driving seat, citing the imminent returns of influential duo Lawrence Shankland and Cammy Devlin as a key factor.

"I'm sticking with Hearts," he said on BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club. "You can lose to Kilmarnock. And I think everybody will beat everybody else."

On his former club, Sutton added: "The remarkable thing about Celtic under Martin O'Neill is they just keep finding a way to win.

"They're not playing good football at all. It's not like a Celtic team of previous seasons, dominating every area. It's been a real struggle for them.

"Rangers are not a particularly good watch either. It will go down to the wire."

Former Rangers head coach Russell Martin also featured on Monday's show and hailed McInnes and Hearts for "an amazing season".

He also said both Old Firm clubs will perhaps feel fortunate to still be in with a shot of the title after turbulent campaigns and suggested they will be feeling more pressure than the current leaders.

"It's such an interesting season," Martin added. "Hearts shaking it up has been really good for Scottish football as a whole. The emergence of Hearts and Motherwell has been really good for the game up there.

"There's pressure on the Old Firm always. But, I know it sounds crazy, I think Hearts have less pressure on them than the other two.

"They can play on the underdog thing from now until the end of the season."

Andy Campbell
BBC Scotland

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Celtic and Rangers bear more pressure in the Scottish Premiership title race, even though Hearts are top, says former Ibrox head coach Russell Martin.

Martin was sacked after Rangers' seventh league game of the season, when they were eighth, and successor Danny Rohl has taken them to third - within three points of Hearts with eight games to play.

Defending champions Celtic, under Martin O'Neill, are two points below Derek McInnes' Hearts and a point above Rangers.

"Because it's so close, there's pressure on the Old Firm always," Martin told BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club. "No matter what the situation, no matter what the game.

"I do think Hearts have less pressure than the other two right now. They can probably play on the underdog thing from now until the end of the season."

Martin's Rangers drew 0-0 with Celtic and lost 2-0 at home to Hearts early in the campaign.

"The Old Firm both have a chance of winning the league and the fans have been so frustrated and disappointed with their seasons," Martin said.

"Martin O'Neill and [assistant] Shaun Maloney have been there, won it between them so many times and [captain] Callum McGregor and the Celtic guys having had the experience of winning it, I think it could be really, really important.

"Derek McInnes and Hearts have had an amazing season.

"It's a really interesting and unique season. I really don't know which way it's going to go.

"Each week it sort of changes. No-one's really in flow. There doesn't seem to be a team that's playing at the peak of their powers. It's an eight-game season and it's going to be really, really exciting. You could easily see it going to either one of those teams."

Hearts, who lost at Kilmarnock on Saturday, finished second in the Scottish top flight in 1986, 1988, 1992 and 2006 but have not finished higher than third over the past 20 years.

And ex-Celtic forward Chris Sutton said on the Monday Night Club: "Hearts are really difficult to measure because it's so easy to just say... the pressure's off.

"I don't necessarily think it is amongst the Hearts fan base.

"I still think that Hearts all season, they've found a way to win. They're not a beautiful football team. They are well structured. He knows what he's doing, Derek McInnes does, in the way that he sets his team up, he knows the Scottish league inside out.

"The pressure's ranked up on Rangers."

Sutton was part of O'Neill's Celtic side from 2000-05 and said of his former club: "If Celtic win the league this season, they'd have done it without a centre forward. Think about that. Celtic have used five different centre-forwards.

"I think Celtic were 112 goals last season. Numbers-wise they are massively down on what they were last season [at 56]."

Celtic have propelled themselves into being Scottish Premiership title favourites by coming through a gruelling schedule with a variety of performances, says former midfielder Scott Allan.

Following back-to-back home defeats against Stuttgart and Hibernian, the Parkhead side's season was on the brink of unravelling.

However, four victories in their following five matches - the most recent of which came against Motherwell on Saturday - have moved them to within two points of league leaders Hearts and progressed them into the Scottish Cup semi-finals.

Ex-Celtic player Allan, who has previously been critical of the manner of his old club's displays under Martin O'Neill, hailed the team's ability to come through a challenging spell unscathed.

"This week you would say Celtic do look favourites at this moment in time," Allan said on the BBC's Scottish Football Podcast.

"I think you look at the four games they came through: away in Stuttgart, Aberdeen away and the two trips to Ibrox.

"Completely different performances in all their games, different aspects of what you'd expect from a Celtic team, but they came through it nonetheless.

"Then they cap it off with a win over Motherwell. With Hearts getting beaten, I do feel the momentum is on Celtic's side - and then you look at the two trips to Dundee and Dundee United, hard games in their own right.

"That's why it's so hard to predict [the title race], but you can't take away from Martin O'Neill and the players in the changing room because they are missing key players - there's no getting away from that."

Jonathan Sutherland
Sportscene presenter

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Jerome Prior - Livingston

Five saves at Easter Road are unlikely to save Livingston's season, but they brought a clean sheet and a point nonetheless.

Warren O'Hora - Hibernian

Another solid showing from the centre-back and a clean sheet.

Kieran Tierney - Celtic

His character and class continues to help keep Celtic fighting for a league and cup double.

Michael Schjonning-Larsen - Kilmarnock

A huge goal against Hearts from the Estonian international to earn his Kilmarnock side a massive three points in their fight against relegation, and throw a massive spanner in the works of the Hearts title tilt.

Luca Stephenson - Dundee United

A brilliant, brave back-post header looked like it would give Dundee United all three points in the derby, but it wasn't to be.

Alex Gogic - St Mirren

If any player ever deserved the classic football hard man head bandage it's Alex Gogic. But the Cyprus international goes the extra mile.

With blood erupting from his head after a clash with a team-mate, there was no bandage required. Instead it took staples to stem the flow, topped off by a massive dollop of Vaseline. What a warrior.

He must be the most old-school player in the Premiership, and we love him for it. Great defensively against Rangers.

Nico Raskin - Rangers

Full of energy in the hurly-burly of midfield in poor conditions in Paisley. He delivered the assist for the vital goal.

Tuur Rommens - Rangers

Got high up the field to decisive effect as he sealed a big three points for Rangers.

Yang Hyun-Jun - Celtic

Two goals in a huge game to sink Motherwell. That is now six goals since Christmas for the South Korean international.

Barney Stewart - Falkirk

The young striker is brimming with belief after graduating to Premiership football. 16 goals now in all competitions for the 21-year-old - albeit half of them while on loan at Championship Dunfermline. Four goals in his last 3 games, huge potential.

Findlay Curtis - Kilmarnock

Has brought a bit of X-factor to the Kilmarnock attack. Looks like a player who can ignite things for the Rugby Park side as they fight to get out of the play-off spot.

Image source, BBC Sport

Andy Robertson is a summer transfer target for Celtic and could be lured to Scotland with the right offer this summer (Football Insider), external.

Ferencvaros' sporting directior says no club has yet shown an interest in manager Robbie Keane despite links with Celtic (Scottish Sun), external.

Celtic's chances of keeping right-back Julian Araujo beyond his loan from Bournemouth have been given a boost (Daily Record), external.

Liverpool have won the race to sign highly-rated Celtic youngster Dara Jikiemi (TEAMtalk), external.

Celtic winger Hyun-jun Yang says he is finding life at the club easier in his third season (Daily Record), external.

Watch highlights from Celtic's 3-1 Scottish Premiership victory over Motherwell on Saturday.

Available to UK users only.

We asked you Celtic fans for your views on the 3-1 win over Motherwell. Here's a taste of what you had to say...

Patrick: I cannot remember a more bizarre season for us Celts. The will to win under Martin O'Neill is formidable and just might win us the title. What a manager.

Walter: A great win and not a last minute scramble, for once. I'm so worried about some of these names getting bandied about to replace O'Neill. I really feel he should be offered a new contract, winning is winning and it's rare that a new manager stays for more than a couple of years anyway. At least Martin won't get tempted to go and manage some EPL side fighting relegation.

Artie: Ben Arthur and Auston Trusty should form Celtic's central defence for the remaining eight games. If not, the defensive weakness which has plagued this season will recur. Celtic are the Premiership's top scorers with 56 goals. There's no room for passengers in defence or midfield. Go back to basics - score goals and win the league.

Mark: When it gets to this point in the season, it's all about winning games. If O'Neill can win this title after the Wilfried Nancy fiasco it will be a miracle. Fair play to Motherwell, they are a great footballing side and a breath of fresh air in the Premiership.

Jack: That two goal lead is the first time Celtic fans have felt somewhat comfortable for what feel like months. Our season has been hanging in the balance for a long time now, but the outcome remains the same - we're still in it.

If we can produce a big win and, more importantly, performance pre-split I think O'Neill might just be erecting his own statue in the east end of Glasgow.

Andy: Great result but had to work for it. Eight more great results needed. It was especially pleasing to see Reo Hatate and Daizen Maeda have a good game. They could be hitting form at just the right time. Hearts losing is a bonus but we must capitalise on it when we meet them.

Celtic defender Dara Jikiemi has opted to join Liverpool when he turns 17 in January, having rejected a three-year contract with the Scottish champions. (TeamTalk), external

Hearts do not plan on selling Claudio Braga to a direct rival after a report suggested Celtic are interested in the 26-year-old forward who joined the Edinburgh club last summer. (Football Insider), external

Haiti head coach Sebastian Migne admits he is struggling to convince Lens striker Odsonne Edouard to switch his allegiances and play for the Caribbean nation in their World Cup opener against Scotland as the 28-year-old former Celtic player still dreams of a first senior cap for France. (Daily Record), external

Read Sunday's Scottish Gossip in full.

Celtic came from behind to snatch a thrilling Scottish Premiership victory over 10-man Motherwell to keep the pressure on league leaders Hearts.

Read the full match report here.

Let us know your thoughts here.

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Celtic manager Martin O'Neill tells BBC Scotland: "It's a big win, and to come from behind and play in the matter that we did. Naturally, I'm delighted with the performance.

"Where it comes in the scheme of things, I genuinely don't know. But today, to play against Motherwell, who are a fine, fine footballing team, and fight back with all the things that were mounting up for us, like injuries, the team have found spirit.

"But spirit alone won't do it for you and they played brilliantly. That's a delight.

"I think for a neutral, not that I am one, I think it was a great game of football.

"We've had that hectic schedule, which was big, and we've come through that. When I was looking at it, when the Aberdeen game was rescheduled in there, I thought we would do well to get through it but they've done that with flying colours.

"From Sunday we've had a free midweek which gave the players a wee bit of a rest but I thought they through tiredness aside, thought 'We've got to get through this game' and they've pulled it off today."