{"id":381813,"date":"2026-03-12T18:59:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T18:59:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/381813\/"},"modified":"2026-03-12T18:59:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T18:59:09","slug":"derek-mcinnes-refuses-to-ignore-celtic-vs-motherwell-result-ahead-of-kilmarnock-clash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/381813\/","title":{"rendered":"Derek McInnes refuses to ignore Celtic vs Motherwell result ahead of Kilmarnock clash"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"\/ Add as preferred source on Google <\/a> <\/p>\n

The Scottish Premiership schedule often creates its own unique brand of scoreboard pressure, and the upcoming weekend is no different. <\/strong><\/p>\n

As Celtic<\/a> prepare to face Motherwell on Saturday afternoon, all eyes will not just be on Glasgow. Over in Edinburgh, Hearts boss Derek McInnes<\/a> is acutely aware of how the weekend\u2019s timeline could shift the momentum before his side even kicks a ball against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park. <\/p>\n

Playing after your title rivals adds a distinct psychological layer to any late-season push. <\/p>\n

When pressed by Sky Sports\u2019<\/a> Luke Shanley on whether the Celtic vs Motherwell<\/a> result will impact his squad\u2019s mindset ahead of their own kickoff on Sunday afternoon, McInnes delivered a refreshingly honest assessment rather than deploying the usual managerial cliches.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course, we will be looking at that, as you do all the results,\u201d McInnes confessed, fully embracing the reality of the pressure-cooker environment. \u201cYou have always got an interest.\u201d<\/p>\n

Who should start up front for Celtic against Motherwell? <\/p>\n

Our writers have had their say, now have yours, comment below\u2026<\/p>\n

\"\" Derek McInnes will be watching Celtic v Motherwell<\/p>\n

Instead of pretending his squad exists in a vacuum, the Hearts manager is acknowledging that external noise. <\/p>\n

With crucial points on the line against Kilmarnock, McInnes knows that monitoring the results around them is just part of the modern game as they look to maintain their strong recent form heading into the vital post-split fixtures<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Celtic have had a rare midweek break, after those chaotic scenes at Ibrox<\/a> following the conclusion of the Scottish Cup quarter-final, as the pressure continues to mount on all involved. <\/p>\n

Luke Shanley: <\/strong>\u201cYou play after Celtic and Motherwell, but before Rangers play St Mirren the following day. Does that change anything in any way? Do you pay attention to the result before your game?\u201d<\/p>\n

Derek McInnes: <\/strong>\u201cOf course, we will be looking at that, as you do all the results. You have always got an interest. But I think for us, it\u2019s just trying to concentrate on (Kilmarnock). There are three points available, and we have to do so much right to get them. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe all play the same games anyway. But we would like to try to go into the post-split games in good form. Try to maintain where we have been. In the last couple of performances, we have been strong, and we just have to try and continue that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"DaizenPhoto by Malcolm Mackenzie\/Getty ImagesHow many points to win the Premiership title?<\/p>\n

Celtic are used to strolling to the title; it has been proven for the last 15 years, well, for the majority of the time, anyway.<\/p>\n

But whilst the champions of Scotland<\/a> are used to that intense pressure, they aren\u2019t used to being in a situation where a team outside of Glasgow is sitting top ahead of the post-split fixtures.<\/p>\n

Usually, you would back the Hoops to win the majority of their games from here, but this crazy season has suggested otherwise, as McInnes was asked about what could be the final points tally. <\/p>\n

Shanley:<\/strong> \u201cHearts can get to 90 points as a maximum. What do you think it will take to win the league? 81 or 82 points. Something like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

McInnes:<\/strong> \u201cWho knows? I think it\u2019s difficult to forecast. I do think with 27 points available, there is going to be a lot of twists and turns yet. I think it\u2019s still almost a quarter of the season. <\/p>\n

\u201cFrom our point of view, we don\u2019t see each game as must-win, or if we lose a game, we don\u2019t see that we are necessarily out of things. We have just got to concentrate on trying to get as many points as possible. Who knows what it will take in the end? <\/p>\n

\u201cBut I do think there are a lot of tough games for everybody in and around it, and that\u2019s before the post-split games. And once the post-split games, it\u2019s normally where everything gets sorted out. We just want to go into those games in good form \u2013 and hopefully, still top of the league.\u201d<\/p>\n

Join Our Newsletter<\/p>\n

Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Add as preferred source on Google The Scottish Premiership schedule often creates its own unique brand of scoreboard…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":381814,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[76],"tags":[150518,18,19,17,132],"class_list":["post-381813","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-derek-mcinnes","tag-eire","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-sports"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/381813","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=381813"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/381813\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/381814"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=381813"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=381813"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=381813"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}