Derek McInnes still believes that Hearts were denied a fair shot at last season’s Premiership title, but former Celtic winger Aiden McGeady has little sympathy for the former Hearts manager, insisting the Tynecastle side had the championship in their grasp and let it slip.
McInnes left Tynecastle in the summer to take charge at Rangers and returned to Hearts on Wednesday night, where he was met with a hostile reception from home supporters. His side eventually drew 2-2 with the club he led to an unexpected title challenge.
Under McInnes, Hearts spent much of last season’s campaign at the top of the table and reached 80 points. Their challenge unravelled on the final day, when Celtic overtook them with a 3-1 victory at Parkhead.
McInnes had repeatedly criticised refereeing decisions in the closing weeks of the season, most notably describing a late penalty awarded to Celtic against Motherwell as “disgusting.” The title decider itself ended in dramatic fashion and culminated in Celtic supporters entering the pitch after Callum Osmand’s goal securing the victory and with it the title.
Speaking before his return to Tynecastle, McInnes said he remained proud of what Hearts achieved, but could not shake the feeling that the ending was unfair.
He said: “I totally enjoyed what we managed to achieve. It shows what can be done despite not having the huge financial muscle of Celtic and Rangers to compete with.
“Taking a team which finished in the bottom six and getting it to 80 points. And it just felt like such an injustice at the end of it all.”
Former Celtic and Hibernian winger McGeady, however, sees no injustice only a failure to capitalise when the opportunity was there.
He told Go Radio: “The injustice being mentioned a few times. What was the injustice. At the end of the day, it was in your hands you blew it. All you had to do was draw the last game of the season and you couldn’t do it.
“I can understand why you’ll put it down to it’s not my fault, it’s not the team’s fault, it’s the referees’ fault. For me that’s you glossing over that.”
Hearts needed only a point in the final game at Celtic Park to seal the title and with three minutes remaining, it looked like the title would be heading to Edinburgh, before Daizen Maeda and then Callum Osmand scored two late goals to seal the title for Celtic.