What is it like for players in a title race?

Lawrence Shankland has stepped up for Hearts in key moments

For fans as a title race comes to its conclusion, the overwhelming feeling is nervousness.

As Hearts and Celtic go into the penultimate round of games separated by a single point at the top of the Scottish Premiership it is more tension than enjoyment for supporters who have to endure the run-in before football nirvana or misery.

But what about the players at the centre of it all? They are the ones who have to perform under intense scrutiny and pressure.

BBC Sport Scotland asked former Celtic defender Darren O'Dea and ex-Hearts and Rangers midfielder Andy Halliday about what it's like in the spotlight.

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Managers and players will often tell journalists it is one game at a time and their focus is purely on their own performances.

However, O'Dea says when it gets into the final few games, the mindset of players does change.

"You would definitely be looking at other results a lot more than what you would maybe normally do," the Irishman, who was part of the Celtic squad which won the title on the final day in 2008, said.

"The reality is you do concentrate on what other teams are doing. This season has shown you things flip back and forth. What you potentially need in terms of results changes."

Halliday agrees there is always an eye elsewhere, but nerves are ultimately a good thing.

"There's no margin for error, so you always want to do the basics extremely well," the retiring Motherwell midfielder said.

"You don't want to give up easy chances or easy goals. Nerves shows that you feel something when it comes to football. And I think the worry would always be if you don't feel the nerves.

"What is a nerve settler at times is when you've prepared well. If you go into a game with a clear game plan, with clear instructions on exactly what's expected of you, I think it settles you."

For Hearts and Celtic, key players have come to the fore in the past few weeks.

Captain Lawrence Shankland has scored six times in his last seven starts, including the equaliser against Motherwell and winner against Rangers.

Meanwhile at Celtic, Daizen Maeda produced two crucial goals in the Old Firm derby to take his tally to five in three post-split games.

As a centre-back, O'Dea says he always looked to the most talented and important players to step up and drag the rest of the team through.

Not every player in a winning squad thrives under pressure.

"Genuinely, you would rely on certain players," he said

"Big players win you championships. And that's how you define a big player really for me, is they arrive in the big moments.

"The players that I would have looked at is [Shunsuke] Nakamura, who always had a free kick in his locker even if he hadn't particularly had a great game.

"There was a moment in Scott McDonald, Aidan McGeady, whoever it was. The rest of us are literally just trying not to lose the game. But it's the reality, and you're just hoping these guys can come up with the goods."

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