HAVING witnessed the scenes of celebration at the end of Celtic's win over Hearts, it would be a stretch to suggest that the outpouring of glee didn't at least have a little to do with the misfortunes of Rangers elsewhere.

But while their fans may be keeping a watchful eye on what their city rivals are doing, for the players, it is all about Celtic.

That's the contention of defender Jozo Simunovic, at any rate, who puts the impressive form of the side as they have streaked away from Rangers at the top of the table down to the fact that they aren't paying them any attention whatsoever.

The Croatian says that getting their own house in order has been the top priority for the champions, with the mantra being that if they take care of their own business, then the honours will take care of themselves come the end of the season.

“It was a good night for all of us," Simunovic said. "It was a result here and other results went for us as well. But let’s talk about us and our performance.

“We knew some things were happening with the cheers but the most important thing for us was finishing our game in the right way.

“That’s all we were thinking about. Even before the game, it was all about our performance and our jobs out there.

“They way it all finished was good for us. But there are a lot of games still to play and a big job in front of us.

“Was it a significant night in the title race? If you just look at our game, then yes, because Hearts beat Rangers.

“But we didn’t talk about the game at Kilmarnock. It was all about ourselves and we did very well.

“I don’t know if we are putting the pressure on others. But we just look at ourselves. We know our jobs and the style we want to play. We want to play well and score goals – that’s the Celtic way. We’re doing it the right way.

“It’s very simple – it’s all about us. If you look back over the last few years we have set standards.

“We regrouped after New Year, but we are still chasing and we still want to score more goals.

“They way we are playing, I’m looking forward."

The outward demeanour of Hearts centre-back John Souttar could hardly have been more in contrast to his Celtic counterpart, with his team now facing up to a potentially pivotal home game against fellow strugglers Hamilton at Tynecastle on Saturday.

"We've got to try to forget about that. It was a terrible night for us as a team," Souttar said.

"But the next two games are the ones we need to look at - they are the biggest of the season.

"The games are as big as I have probably played in since I came to the club.

"They are huge and we have to win them."