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38 there [Music] a the place to go the of the tower was good B [Music] price Eng of the best the ti meets with much successa a tropy and it up in [Music] paradise and give us teams mer [Music] and e [Music] just four games to go in the Premiership but today’s match is the only one brandan Rogers and his players are thinking about and it won’t be easy hearts have been a thorn in Celtic side this season but the boys don’t need any more motivation than the potential Glory that could be just around the corner a win today would take us a big step forward in retaining that sing Premiership title 90 plus minutes of pulsating drama coming your way Steven n Smith’s side have had the upper hand on two occasions against Celtic already this season the team that only seems to play purely against one particular opposition will be going into this game with confidence but Celtic are at full strength and couldn’t be in a better position as they look to put that record straight today kickoff is just 30 minutes away yes a very warm welcome to you and to this live Celtic TV coverage of the S Premiership match between Celtic and hearts it’s a 3:00 kickoff at local time thankfully it’s not as windy as it was when we were last year with that game against uh St mirin Peter Grant is alongside me uh for this one uh Peter how much are you looking forward to this one do you feel the pressure beginning to rise a little bit as The Season’s end gets closer always does when you’re in this situation but I’m really looking forward to because the last time we played here against Hearts I thought it was the poest 90 minutes we had to be fair all season and I’m hoping that the boys are going to respond to that and put in a performance we’ve got boys back fit now I think that’s vital and you can see that in the change of dynamic within the group even you’re bringing players on they’re affecting the game and I think at that part of the Season we weren’t able to do that so hopefully that’s going to be the case and get three points and put that extra pressure on for the game tomorrow it’s great that at this stage of the Season Celtic do not have any injuries in the squad which could be massive and when we look at the starting 11 and look at the strength of the bench as well again it just gives you that confidence James Forest uh retains his place in the starting 11 in fact it’s exactly the same starting 11 that won up at Den Park the only change is on the bench and look at that D in MAA he is an absolute machine back from what looked like being a season ending injury unfortunately for Young Daniel Kelly who makes way for D Mayer no as you say the managers went with the team who I thought in the first half last week were excellent I thought the two wi players started the game very well then I thought we started to crowd them out a little bit I think we give them the ball as early as we possibly we can do get the balls in the Box put Hearts under pressure they’ll be coming here thinking we’ll be strong defensively so you have to get by them quickly and I feel is if we slow build up from the back and play Square passes hearts are happy at that but if we can get it to James forest and Nicholas Kun ear in the game which I think we did early in the game last week and we G it three or four chances then and hopefully we can do that today again but I’m very pleased to see me header back in the group as well so that shows you the character he’s got never mind anything else character he’s got and I think that’s where everybody responds to his energy and enthusiasm along with his ability following Hearts this season you would think they’re a one-man team but when that player is a striker and he bangs in the goals um like Laurence shankland has done this season there’s absolutely no doubt Peter he will be the man that Celtic have to stop this afternoon there’s Absolut he’s got a great Knack of finding space in the box now you talk about good Strikers they always find that space people were talking about with Celtic and Rangers the season round about Christmas time buying him he could play there because he knows he can put the ball in the back of the net he’s big Improvement to his game and I think he’ll play a little bit deeper today his link play has been a lot better I actually think the ball bounced off him quite a lot and I think he’s link play now allows vargas’s pace and I think that’s what n Smith will be looking at Dro Shanklin a little bit deeper because you know as soon as he lays it off he gets in the Box he’s got that hunger and desire to get in the box but the pace of Vargas is something we have to be careful of as well okay he’s only had five goals this season he’s not played a lot of games but Shanklin as you say in the box if anything drops to he’s got a great desire to score goals and you’ve always got to be aware of that as Defenders every game feels like a cup final even though we’ve got one coming up on the 25th of May it felt like that at Den Park when when Celtic went there in in in the last game uh James Forest the hero in the end a little bit of squeaky bum time towards the end after the Adida own goal but it was all about getting the three points was abolutely I don’t know if this is a good or a bad touch from kyogo but it’s a wonderful a wonderful finish for James and he’s been remarkable in his performances in the last few weeks when he’s played and I can understand maybe the manager thinks it’s May better to start him but even at the goal here he wins the ball back but the important thing was a quick pass from atti he done that in earlier in the game in the first half and got the goal but you see he just passes there you go there’s an opportunity don’t get time but gets his luck but finishes exceptionally well because it’s between the keeper legs and he’s been a god sender in this period And I think we spoke about it earlier it’s nice to see a wi player with scoring goals I think that Celtic have always Wingers chipped him a lot of goals throughout the season even though the goal scorers have maybe 20 30 goals the white players have always got 10 to 15 and it’s nice to see James doing that with a little time he’s had on the pitch we know Hearts will bring a a noisy traveling support as well what what have you made of Steven n Smith’s um tenure so far as heart’s manager well I was critical him at the start of the season I must admit because I didn’t know who the manager was and I thought they handled that situation really poorly but I’ve got to give him great credit for the way he’s bounced back and the way he’s balanced his team we still think we’ve got to see the big game GES he talked about he was going to do this that and the next thing at the semi-final and he never turned up to be perfectly honest with you but the players they have and experience have got around about the group we have to be aware of it you know it’s a a massive game for us as well and I always love beating Hearts you know because I always call them Rangers reserves there was that many ex-rangers played for them so we we used to love beating Hearts it was one of these games but there was a top side at that particular time when we played but to be fair to Steven nouth I think he’s balanced that group very very well and they got a goal scorer as a member of the for family on both sides this afternoon Allen Forest on the bench for hearts but the man of the moment for Celtic is of course James Forest back in the starting lineup back amongst the goals the man who’s been in the first team for 14 years could be the man to separate the sides this afternoon he doesn’t like interviews this James but I managed to convince him to speak to me at lenux town this week James congratulations on you your current form you you’re the man of the moment after your cup semi-final goal and your your two goals against UND can you put that down to anything I think uh since i’ maybe been back in the squad the last five six weeks I’ve just really enjoyed it uh been back helping the team it’s important part of the Season as well so I think it it’s taken everyone from the starters to the the PS on the bench and and I think it’s a tight group and you see that over the last few weeks as well how important was it for you to not just get back into the into the team te into the squad but to start contributing with goals as well cuz I think we can see it in your face in your celebrations just how much it means to you yeah I think it always does as as a Celtic player like every game’s uh always so much pressure and I think even as an an attacking player I think if you start if you come on I think you’re always expected to do something like it’s always what I know like throughout the year so no I’ve I’ve been delighted with uh impact lately and and hopefully can carry that one uh like the remaining games you very much likeed to do your talking on the pitch I know talking like this you don’t feel particularly comfortable with you don’t seem to quite like the celebrations at full time as well I saw at the weekend the players in the G are trying to get you to to celebrate in front of the team is that not that not your thing either no like boys have always done over the years and I think it’s good I think H the fans like the boys do it but I’ve always just been wanting to stay the back and just let let the boys go on it and and uh I thought the Gaff was going to make me dance at the weekend but was it’s not for me that but as I said that I love when you when you play for cel you you scor the goals you feel unbelievable but uh no I I’ll let the other boys uh do do the dancing can you believe 2010 when you made your your Celtic debut do the goals still mean the same to you despite the fact you’ve scored over 100 now uh I’d actually say maybe the last couple years like you you didn’t take it for granted when you were younger but maybe just like you think about it when you’re a bit older you just realize like how hard that is like actual like like playing for Celtic uh like staying here for so long like come through the Academy I think you you realize when you’re a bit older like like how difficult it is so and and staying there as well so you always need to be at it and I think the last couple years since we got a bit older and like change of managers and stuff that as well that you’re always still like still in about it h in the squad and the team and and no I think every time you play is is is tremendous it’s a great feeling and obviously scoring Mak an impact that there’s no there’s no quite a feeling like it yeah is it the fact then that they ironically mean more to you at this stage I I’d say so I think like obviously the me a big games that You’ played for Cela over the years like semi-finals finals like Avengers games they always mean a lot but I I I I do think maybe maybe because I do think about it more I think it’s you do realize like it is as a massive achievement is really good and I think it it does mean a lot I you’ve been down this road so many times with Celtic title Runnings like this you’re no stranger to them how much are you looking forward to the to the games that are left knowing that you are hitting top form no I think uh I think it’s a Celtic play it’s always the games that you want you want to be playing at hamon you want to be playing against Rangers and it’s been like that for years and uh I think like maybe new boys in the squad they haven’t experienced it as well but they’ll be looking forward to it as well and I think we’ve got a good balance in in the squad like new players players that have been here the last couple years we’ve had a lot of success ESS and as I said new signings and then players that have been here for for even longer so I do think it has a good balance and and I think every everyone’s ready to go last few [Music] games walk through the corridors of time as we uncover the Legacy and legends of Celtic Football Club in our new docu series if you know your history our journey begins with the human torpedo the story of Jimmy mcgi then the green and white Dynasty delving into the Mastermind jock Stein and Celtics dominance during the 9 and a row era we culminate with the centennials revisiting the emotion and Triumph of our centinary season here directly from the Legends themselves Tommy Calahan Peter Grant and Frank Maven sharing their firsthand experiences of these golden years if you know your history isn’t just a look back it’s a celebration of what makes Celtic Celtic subscribe to Celtic TV today and watch [Music] now it was one of those Legends right there I’m sure James Forest Peter wouldn’t mind me calling him a Celtic Legend he probably a reluctant Celtic Legend he doesn’t like uh the Limelight but he has scored so many crucial goals for Celtic in his 14 years that sitting here watching James Forest score goals now it just gives you confidence that that that you’ve got Wingers there that that are going to shoot well it was always a big part of the game here the white players thr chipping in with their goals as we spoke about earlier but James has done tremendously well and he’s right the goals the later you get in your career he’s probably appreciating it more because he knows there’s not many left it doesn’t matter how many years he’s got left and they respect to that he knows it’s not going to be hell for a long time but the biggest thing he’s done he’s had an impact in every game he’s come on and I must admit in these periods I think he’s had a bigger effect on the left hand side because he’s coming in the pitch he’s he’s heads up we can see passes he’s striking the ball exceptionally well even though he done really well on the right hand side I believe at this stage in his career he’s in a position now that he can affect opposition especially the way Celtic play with the wi players coming in off the line he does it very well but the thing I like about him he looks forward then whether it’s to shoot whether it’s to cross in the box and you can see he’s a lot better finisher than people give him credit for because Big Al mcle put him through that sort the central area and he scored the heart trck he scored five goals in two games within 5 days each other we played Albania I think it was in Israel Isel yeah and that was his first five goals we couldn’t believe for Scotland at that particular time cuz we just knew he had a certain knck of scoring goals he’s added that to his game people used to say his Crossing wasn’t great but the one thing you see the amount of goals he scores with his left foot clean strikes as well so that’s an amazing thing to having big he’s been a big game player in this season coming on in Aline he made a big change in that particular match as well and yet again he had a big effect in last week and that’s all James has been able to do in the last few weeks which been tremendous yeah and perhaps even he didn’t think he was maybe going to get an opportunity to to contribute at such a crucial stage in in a season and add uh more medals to his already enviable um Hall of Celtic silverware let’s talk about Liam scales who signed a new contract got a new four-year deal um thanks to his performances since breaking into the side at the start of the season um sometimes gets a bit stick from Celtics supporters and social media we put together this little kind of clip from his game the game at dens Park last um week and all right he might not be the silkiest footballer some people saying if he was you know from Spain with a Spanish name or an Italian name we’d be talking about what a great defender he is but we can see how crucial he’s been to Celtic at times at both ends of the pitch absolutely I think I think he’s in a tremendous season considering you think probably the day before the season was going to be starting he was going out and Loan all these things I think he’s responding exceptionally well of course he had a little bit of a downtime I thought he played really well in the European games as well he’s got he gets a first touch on set plays I think he should score more goals from the set plays because always seems to get there first I think he should scor more goals from it I’ve been really impressed with him he’s all game deserves his new contract absolutely the only thing I would say with him now is I wouldn’t pass it a square across the back as often he does because he’s got to trust I think he he doesn’t realize how good a user of the ball he is right and I would pass forward a lot more if I was him because he can break the lines he can hit the half diagonals he’s got that quality but sometimes I think he takes the safety measures and I think that’s sometimes where the criticism comes from it’s not his defending which he’s going to let him down at cuz he’s a young player playing for Celtic and that concentration level is massive but his distribution is a lot better when he plays forward and I think if I was saying to him you’ve got to trust yourself to use that left foot because it’s very effectual especially the way we play and I think if he starts to do that and add that to his game his all round be game goes up another level as well as I say he’s 25 26 now he’s at a stage in his career that’s still very very young as a center back and I always think when he’s playing like somebody with Carter Vickers it makes him look a better player whoever plays along with Carter Vickers and I think he missed that people realize he became the senior player when Carter Vickers so he Tain that respons responsibility very well so he thly deserves his contract so he got his award of a new contract will Matt O’Reilly be getting the PFA uh Player of the Year award he was nominated um this week the only Celtic player nominated uh for that so has he been the best Celtic player this season Peter for you because I I think even the goals he’s had we watched was it St Johnson out here he could have scored four or five you know and the keeper was unbelievable that day I think he’s been tremendous I I said to you I know a lot about mat as a youngster but he’s such a good player and sometimes you’ve played so well all of a sudden you drop a percentage below that people think you’re not playing as well this culmination they thinking the goalkeeper I Brocks that shows you the confidence he’s playing with this here is a fantastic first touch people say it’s an easy finish he six seven yards out but the the touch to put the ball under control and get the ball in the back of net as quickly was tremendous I’ve been really really impressed and I think he’s only going to get better because he’s got that intelligence he understands the game he wants to get better and he knows what it takes to be a Celtic player whether we have got him here in the long run I don’t know but he’s he’s definitely enjoyed his time at Celtic Park he’s been a massive player for us at Celtic Park and long may that continue at least to the end of the season he’s up against um Lauren shankland and Jack butland and James Taver for that PFA player of the year award all right let’s hear from Celtic manager brandan Rogers who’s been speaking to John lewith Brendon I’ll start with team news today it seems like good news all around D returns to the Squad Captain K McGregor takes his place and was there ever any doubt that James Forest had ended his starting be today after last week’s display no I think James we know we get the consistency of his performance um so he certainly has merited the start and uh it’s just nice to have virtually a a all back and available and there’s a sense of anticipation among the fans we’re getting to that real business end of the season can that enthusiasm and energy Inspire the players on the pitch just that extra little bit well there’s no doubt I think the the supporters give a huge boost to the the players but I also think there’ll be moments where that patience is is needed as well but make no doubts about it the players are are are really motivated full of energy to go and perform and uh and perform well for the supporters Hearts have tasted success at Celtic Part had a good season um I’m sure that doesn’t need or be required to inspire a squad but does it make your task a little easier when it comes to team talks that it’s so vital today that you win the match no I think we know that anyway you know the um you hear words like revenge and all that sort of stuff involved in football but it’s not it’s not the case we’re we’re too smart a group for that we just didn’t perform but we didn’t get bued down on the two performances I think it’s you know our first performance away at tank Castle was excellent that shows what we can do so uh the two performance for for various reasons we weren’t able to get the victory from but this is different here today we got four games to go uh in the league and we know we can’t afford any mistakes and uh three out of four games at home so we want to capitalize on that and aside from ability and fitness how big a part does mentality play now well it’s massive it’s it’ll be 80% of uh of this part of the season the the physical the players in the main are in a good place so it’s now all about that belief and uh and that that Spirit to go and attack the game and and then when you defend just be nice and comfortable and stay calm so uh so these are the messages that we reiterate to the players at this stage of the Season good luck BR cheers thank you thanks good for me it’s probably made me a bigger person made me have an understanding of what it was to try and run a DRM to try and be that leader be responsible on the part but also to drive standard daily and that goes from training into games and off the field as well SC SC you have to try and lead by example and all a said you got to try and win trophies here that’s the honor that it gives you and they’re queuing up here it’s another one for PA L stay true to yourself be yourself don’t feel you need to change don’t feel as if you need to go look for problems problems will come to your door absolutely soon as I went over that line my job was to win this club football games make sure we go win trophies I wanted to win trophies as much as anybody else [Music] did some great exclusive content this season on Celtic TV make sure you go and check it all out how’ you fancy winning £10,000 in today’s Paradise winfall well you can as long as you get yourself a ticket via the Celtic pools app it’s in association with Lori Ross the ticket will cost you 22 the jackpot is £1,000 but you’ve got to be at least 18 years of age and be inside the UK or Ireland to take part please visit begambleaware.org all right let’s go back into the tunnel area where we can now hear from Celtic midfielder Matt oil Matt before I turn to the game I congratulations again your peers in Scottish Football have nominated you for a Player of the Year award but is it a cliche to say that what’s most important for all players is the team on the pitch yeah definitely and I think that’s something that’s definitely at the back of my mind today it’s not not necessary to think about um yeah one job to do today and how do you go about that job today it’s been difficult against Hearts this season I’m sure you’re expecting another tough game what’s going to be the key to winning this one just starting with real intensity I think and maintaining that through through the 90 minutes I think if we play to our the level that we can play especially our counter press and then speed with the ball then should be fine and how b a part of the fans playing that intensity a sense that they’re coming here today expecting a big occasion yeah it is a big occasion I mean every game’s you know very important now obviously um and yeah we need them behind us we’ll do our very best for them like we always do and look forward to it yes a lot mat thank you [Music] have the final say in this one nice threaded ball through to Adam Ed goes for a goal and he scored what a goal for Celtic just as Rangers felt that they had the upper hand on this one Adam received a pass inside his box and drove a low shot under the body of Jack botland [Music] take the ball away from Taylor SCS it towards inside the [Applause] bo one touch and he streaks it into the top [Applause] Corner gica oh that’s a lovely ball gica to Flint and she’s rounded goalkeeper this is fantastic it’s a Fantastic Four for Celtic veos ni some space for Forest alist Johnson will he cut it back he will it’s a great chance for mat riy to find the top corner and to put Celtic back in front Ashworth Clifford what can she do she crosses the ball in it’s deep oh and it’s gone in off the inside of the post Ashworth Clifford opens the scoring for Celtic [Music] [Music] atti edge of the area Kiyoko what a shot what a goal for Celtic right on the half hour mark it was an unbelievable strike from James [Applause] Forest to for for your favorite goal and be in with a chance of winning a signed Celtic shot go to Celtic fc.com GM and register your details good luck yeah pick your winner from that and if uh your suggestion um well concurs with this man’s here then you could be in with a chance of winning a signed Celtic top just looking back on that interview with Brendan Rogers earlier that John lewith did he asked him about mentality and the manager says yeah that will be 80% of it just now he mentioned mentality belief and spirit always never changes here but that’s a mentality you’ve got to have every week to play here and that’s what we say there is no such thing about the Rangers game next week it’s all about Hearts today that’s the most important thing and it’s having that focus and that’s the thing Brandon will be reiterating to the players forget Rangers and the games down the line Celtic park is all about wiping one off next one next game and doing that they’ve got to go here and perform well and it’s good to see you’ve got to be on the front foot Matt Ra’s talking about play on the front foot be positive and we didn’t do that the last game here against hars and hearts made it very tough for us so hopefully we’ve learned from that we know it’s a massive game not just for ourselves put the pressure on Rangers tomorrow yes if you win but it’s all about us we’re in the pole position and that is the biggest thing more than an else you always want to keep yourself in pole position and that’s exactly what you do about Victory Day and have absolutely no doubt that the boys have been out there to try and do that and Matt O’Reilly spoke about intensity in the opening stages how important is that bearing in mind that hearts are coming into this game knowing they’ve already won at Celtic Park this season Celtic will want to get the fans excited early on well the big thing for me was don’t give as many set plays because it was two set plays scored against us even though we didn’t play particularly well on the day it was two set plays at this Steven n Smith will be saying the same again they’ve got the P of Vargas you’ve got a goal scorer in shankland you know that so we’ve got to keep the ball on the pitch move them quickly don’t let them get set that’s the biggest thing for me always when you come to Celtic par teams want to be set and hopefully break your work we on set plays that’s why we’ve got to play quick I would get it to the two wide players as quickly as we possibly could because they’re isolated out there because they play with wing backs if that’s what they do today and I think that’s the areas we can hotland because we know we’ve got guys that can HT them it’s on the pitch but we know we’ve also got guys on the bench that can come on and affect as well which is a big difference also since it’s changed in the last few weeks pitch is looking in great condition the supporters are packed in in there tens of thousands John spoke about it being a big occasion it’s a huge occasion I know the players don’t think about the results in the context of the league but in the confines of this studio at this stage Peter how massive a result would this be if Celtic were to get the three points is this is this one of the key results that Celtic need to to to motivate them and to to Spring them towards that Championship I think there are absolutely no doubt because the big thing it’s not only getting the result today Rangers don’t play to tomorrow yeah and that is a massive thing because if you win today all of a sudden there’s an extra pressure comes for their supporters because they know they have to win really so our concentration that’s why brendon’s right we have to do our job every week we have to do our job between now and end of the season because you never know what gives and we’ve got to make sure we’re in po position we battle back to do that because people talk about the seven points where were in front yeah but then all of a sudden we were Five Points behind and we’ve managed to get back three points in front so you’ve got you can’t question these boys mentality because the bottom line is they’ve done it without players being fully fit yeah you know guys coming back the call McGregor Big influential players ratti they’re back now so God will and that takes us over the linee and hopefully that can start today we getting the the performance and result today Kevin Clans is the man in the middle car McGregor’s got the arm band leading the Celtic team out onto the hallowed Paradise Turf let’s go high up into the commentary Gantry where we can throw to Paul C and Simon donelly four games remaining three points ahead at the top of the table and Celtic this afternoon the chance to extend that lead to go six points clear at the top of the table with a victory over Hearts here at Celtic Park Brandon Rogers yesterday in his press conference spoke about scoreboard pressure and he’ll certainly be wanting his team to put that onto Celtics Rivals this afternoon with the three points against a sid one of only two sides who domestically have beaten Celtic the other one being karok but Celtic of course have also recorded a victory over hars a 4-1 victory at T castle and Celtic an unchanged side from the team that won at Den Park last weekend a first start for James Forest here at Celtic Park since the beginning of November in a 2-1 victory over s m three goals in his last two games for the experienced Winger you wouldn’t bet against him scoring this afternoon again against a heart side who are also unchanged they drew n now at rugby park last weekend a result which confirmed them in third place in group stage football guaranteed for steeven neith’s side as well but of course it’s all about Celtic this afternoon they will be keeping an eye on the number nine for hearts of course the captain Lauren shankland 20 8 League goals three of which have come against Celtic this season one of four players nominated for the PFA Scotland Player of the Year Matt Matt oy obviously alongside him as one of the four nominees the Celtic players in the Huddle as The Echoes of You’ll Never Walk Alone reverberate around Paradise Kum McGregor those last few moments of inspiration for the sides [Music] and the inspiration from the Celtic support the 12th man a packed Paradise a sellout crowds four League games remaining three of them at Celtic Park of course and it’s all about this afternoon the green and white Hoops against the maroon of Hearts first play Third it’s Kevin clany the referee just checks