YOU’VE SHOWN HIBS NO RESPECT
EXCLUSIVE: FIXTURES ROW HEARTS’ REACTION
BY ANTHONY HAGGERTY IVAN SPROULE believes the SPFL have been disrespectful to Hibs by granting Celtic the chance to clinch the title at Easter Road.
The Hoops will travel to Easter Road for their first post-split game on April 21 after league chiefs opted to avoid a potential Old Firm title decider.
Brendan Rodgers’ side need just one more win to claim their seventh Premiership title in succession.
But former Hibs ace Sproule reckons the decision could come back to bite the SPFL.
The 37-year-old believes the fixture date is a slap in the face to Hibs and will give Neil Lennon and his players all the motivation they will need to beat Celtic and hand the beaks their nightmare scenario when Glasgow’s big two lock horns at Celtic Park in their April 29 showdown. Sproule spent two stints at Easter Road and was part of the Hibs side who lost to Rangers when they won the SPL Championship at Easter Road in 2005 on a day famously dubbed ‘Helicopter Sunday’. The Northern Irishman said: “Hibs won’t need much more motivation going into this game now. That has nothing to do with Celtic or Rangers going for a title win. “It is all about the disrespect that has been shown by the SPFL to say we think Celtic could easily roll up to Easter Road and win the league. They have clearly thought there is more chance of Celtic clinching the championship against Hibs.
“I thoroughly expect Celtic to finish the job and win the league anyway.
“But there is no guarantee they will beat Hibs at Easter Road and win the title.
“Hibs could win the game and HEARTS admit they are victims of the Premiership’s “inherently imbalanced” league system. They have been handed three away fixtures and will have played 18 games at home and 20 on the road. Hearts play Celtic and Hibs at Tynecastle and go to Rangers, Kilmarnock and Aberdeen. A Hearts statement said: “In an ideal world, each team would complete 19 home and 19 away league fixtures. But due to the structure of the league this is not always possible.
“Where an imbalance is inevitable, ‘mid-table’ teams potentially lose out by having an uneven split.
“Hearts are currently sixth behind Kilmarnock in fifth. It is the club’s understanding that Kilmarnock was