Truth is, we can't kid ourselves — our away form recently hasn't been good enough. If you want to win leagues you need to pick up points across the board, not just in the big games. Right now, inconsistency is the thing undoing us.

Look at how this season's played out. We still turn up for the Old Firm and the obvious big ties, and fair play for that. But the dropped points against the likes of Motherwell, the draw with Hibs and that earlier defeat to Hearts are the kind of results that cost you championships. To be honest, you can see why people are worried — beating the lesser sides is just as important as getting a result against the top teams.

Hearts deserve credit. They're grinding out results and showing more consistency than most expected. If you measure things by average points and steadiness, you can make the case they're the team on course right now. That doesn't make it nailed-on, but it explains why they're up there and why we can't be complacent.

Celtic still have a game in hand, so the table isn't settled, and people will rightly say everyone drops points at some stage. Fair enough. But the pattern that worries me is ours: turning up for the big nights but slipping against teams we should be seeing off. That's a mentality and focus problem, not just tactics or personnel. Danny and the squad aren't hiding — they're fighting — but the small, avoidable slips add up.

So what needs to happen? We have to make away matches a priority in the same way we prepare for the big fixtures. Better focus, tighter mentality, and less of the complacency that creeps in when we assume games are already won. The league will be decided by those matches, not only the headline clashes. Lose the odd big tie and you can recover; lose the easy ones and the table will punish you. That's where this season will be won or lost.

Written by Thestigno1: 27 February 2026

Tags: spfl