Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Glasgow Live
Glasgow Live
Sport
Ryan Thom

John Hartson questions strength of league as he delivers Celtic 'steamrolling everyone' verdict

John Hartson has questioned the strength of the Scottish Premiership after admitting Celtic are 'steam rolling everyone.'

The Celtic hero was at Tynecastle on punditry duty as he watched his old side send Hearts crashing out of the Scottish Cup with a comfortable win. And the 3-0 battering over the third best team in the league has left the Welshman scratching his head over the state of the other teams in the top flight.

Robbie Neilson’s men fancied causing a cup upset despite being plagued with injuries. But they suffered a horror start as Aaron Mooy fired Celtic in front inside two minutes as they strolled onto victory. Goals from Kyogo and Cameron Carter-Vickers meant the Hoops marched on for another Hampden date and a chance at the treble.

READ MORE: Joe Hart issues Celtic two word response as he hails Scottish Cup win amid Hearts object incident

Hartson is adamant that the results hows the huge gulf between Celtic and everybody else in the league and even questioned the gap between Hearts and the other eight teams. As he challenged the rest of the league ‘to do more’ to close the gap.

Speaking to on Viaplay after the match, the pundit said: “Yes, Hearts have a lot of injuries - missing their top scorer Lawrence Shankland and Robert Snodgrass who can make things happen, long term injuries like Craig Halkett who is their leader - but saying all that they are still doing fantastically well.

“They are third in the league and maybe we need to look at the league. Is the league strong enough? Hearts are up to third and for me are the third best team in Scotland but who else is really threatening Hearts right now?

“They are five points ahead of Hibs and way clear of other teams. Celtic, Rangers and Hearts are the top three teams and the other teams have to do a lot more to catch up.

“Celtic march on. They are steamrolling everyone right now, they really are. They are 21 games unbeaten. They’re awesome. The one thing Hearts had to do - and I said it at the start of the game - was stay with Celtic.

"You can’t gift Celtic anything. In the first minute Celtic got in behind and Reo Hatate had a really good shot. Zander Clark made the save, a minute later Celtic go a goal in front and all of a sudden Hearts have an awful lot do do. Hearts came back into the game with the Toby Sibbick chance but I can’t recall Joe Hart making another save in 90 minutes."

READ NEXT:

- Robbie Neilson in Celtic red card 'decapitation' blast as Hearts boss hammers VAR 'shambles'

- Celtic player ratings vs Hearts as Kyogo's crucial goal hands Ange Postecoglou win in landmark game

- Leigh Griffiths rejoins Mandurah City as ex-Celtic star brings an end to long period without a club

- Ange Postecoglou in Celtic 'make allowances' admission as boss lauds 'really good' Hearts approach

- Ange Postecoglou 'here's to 100 more' banner as Celtic boss' landmark hailed with Christmas quip

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.