Ross County manager Malky Mackay reminded his players they were still in control of their own destiny despite a late, late blow at Motherwell.

County will be safe from relegation if they win their last two cinch Premiership games, at home to St Johnstone on Wednesday and away to basement rivals Kilmarnock on Sunday.

Mackay was frustrated by VAR decisions after his side saw a penalty award rescinded and then got a handball decision against them following an intervention from Clydesdale House that allowed Kevin Van Veen to net deep into stoppage-time at Fir Park.

County were edging out of the danger zone at the time but now go into the final two games a point behind Killie.

Mackay said: “It’s still in our hands. I said to the players at Motherwell how proud I was of them.

“We could have made better decisions on the ball but there was no quarter given or asked – it was a terrific game of football considering the scoreline right up to the 102nd minute.

“Decisions have happened and my players kept their cool.

“We’ve now got to dust ourselves down because we’ve got St Johnstone in Dingwall which is one that we look forward to.

“The boys are together. They’ve been great. Other than the anomaly of the Hearts game, they’ve been great over the last six weeks.

“Anyone who has seen us – the Celtic game, the win at St Johnstone, the Aberdeen game and how close that was, then beating Livingston and Dundee United and a close game at Motherwell – we have a group that is really at it considering where we are in the league.

“You just hope that a bit of the fortune turns for us. But you can’t rely on luck – you have to go and make your own.”

Kevin van Veen has his sights firmly set on reaching the 30-goal mark and securing seventh place for Motherwell in the cinch Premiership.

The Dutchman took his season tally to 27 by scoring the winner against Ross County on Saturday, finding the net in a ninth consecutive game, a post-war record for Motherwell.

The striker has more milestones in his grasp.

Van Veen will equal a club record set by local hero Hugh Ferguson more than 100 years ago if he scores in his 10th match in row when Motherwell face Livingston on Wednesday night.

The 31-year-old is still in the running for the Premiership top goalscorer, sitting on 23, two behind Celtic’s Kyogo Furuhashi along with Hearts skipper Lawrence Shankland.

The former Scunthorpe striker is also looking to become the first Motherwell player since Dixie Deans to score 30 goals or more in a season, the future Celtic player doing so in 1968-69 when the Steelmen were in the Second Division. The last Motherwell player to do it in a top-flight campaign was Joe McBride five years earlier.

Van Veen has always believed he could challenge that landmark.

“I think it was 19 or 20, and I said to the same media in this room ‘I am going to score another 10 more’,” he said. “Everyone thought ‘this guy is off his head’.

“Now I am three away from what I set and we have two games to go. I am still stuck to my word. I have not reached it yet but I do believe in myself and in the team to get six points from these two games.

“The way we are feeling, 30 is within my reach and six points are in our reach. I am very confident I can hit my personal levels in what I said I was going to do, and the team as well, to get to the top of the bottom six. It is all there for us to take.”

With all the goals Van Veen has been scoring, his celebrations have become more varied. He marked his recent goal against Kilmarnock by pretending to go to sleep and told the wider world his girlfriend was pregnant by putting the ball under his shirt and sucking his thumb against St Johnstone.

“When I score I just do something weird or impulsive,” he said. “It’s not like I have a book with all my celebrations.

“I just do something weird. I am just a weird guy sometimes.

“Like the one (when) I fell asleep against Kilmarnock, I don’t know why I did that. It just came up. I thought, I have got tired of scoring all these goals, I will have a nap. No, that’s a joke. I don’t have any celebrations planned.”

Steven MacLean has assured relegation-threatened Kilmarnock and Dundee United that there is no chance of St Johnstone taking it easy when they visit Ross County on Wednesday.

Saints can no longer finish in the bottom two of the cinch Premiership but their interim boss knows 10th-placed Killie and 12th-placed United will have a vested interest in how the 11th-placed Staggies get on.

MacLean insists his side have no intention of slackening off in a match that could have a big bearing on how the relegation battle unfolds.

“We’ve got a duty to everybody,” he said. “We want to go there and win for our fans, for ourselves and also for the other teams in the league.

“We’ll be going up there to be positive, like I want to be in every game, and we’ll be trying to win the game.”

MacLean has steered Saints to safety with two wins and a draw in his four games since stepping up to replace Callum Davidson.

“I’m delighted with the players,” he said. “I challenged them to stay up and they’ve done it with two games to spare, which is very good.

“They’ve shown a great attitude and been very good for me. But we’ve still got two games to go and we want to win them both. We’re concentrating on Ross County just now and then we’ll take care of the Livingston game on Sunday.”

MacLean has challenged Cammy Ballantyne to try to establish himself at Saints after the 23-year-old midfielder, who has spent the majority of his senior career with the Perth club out on loan at Montrose, finally made his first start against Kilmarnock on Saturday.

“I was delighted for him,” said MacLean. “I thought his performance was excellent. His energy levels were great and he showed a bit of quality as well.

“If selected against Ross County, hopefully he can back it up. It’s up to him now. We gave him an opportunity to play on Saturday and he took that opportunity well.

“It’s up to him to go and make his mark now and try to make himself a regular in the first team.”

Barry Robson told his Aberdeen side to “go and grab” third place in the cinch Premiership as they prepare for the visit of St Mirren on Wednesday night.

The 2-1 defeat by Hearts at Tynecastle at the weekend reduced the gap between the third-placed Dons and the Jambos to just two points with two fixtures remaining.

A win over the Buddies coupled with a Hearts failure to beat Rangers at Ibrox would guarantee Aberdeen a third-place finish before they travel to Celtic Park on Saturday.

“The message has been clear to them,” said Robson who will have Graeme Shinnie back from suspension, with Luis ‘Duk’ Lopes and Ross McCrorie back in training.

“I said that today when we were doing our match prep.

“I said ‘this is down to you, this is how you have performed and you have given yourself an unbelievable opportunity when everyone wrote you off and remember that. It’s in your hands now so go and grab it’.”

The defeat at Tynecastle followed a goalless draw at home to Hibernian and a 2-0 defeat by Rangers at Ibrox but Robson stressed the quality of performance.

He said: “Recent performances have been good. Down at Rangers, we were outstanding.

“We could have come away with the victory. Hibs at home, it was a difficult game, Hibs really going at it.

“We had three or four players missing against Hearts down there and the boys stayed in the fight.

“I thought we were really good in the first 20 minutes. So I have been really pleased. Performances have been good.”

Saints put in an impressive performance in the 2-2 draw with champions Celtic at Parkhead on Saturday but Robson is hoping home advantage will count.

He said: “St Mirren have not changed their system all season.

“They played the way they play, they pressed the way they press, they are well-organised and they know exactly what they are doing.

“It’s always a difficult game – no matter if you play them at home or away.

“Obviously we have our weapons that we like to use against them and hopefully we can do that well.

“We have had good preparation for the game and it is a game we are looking forward to.

“We have our fans behind us, Pittodrie has been bouncing for the last two months. It has been so good.

“It is the busiest I have seen it in a long time and the players have really taken the fans with them and the fans have helped the players perform, so hopefully we get that again tomorrow.”

Kilmarnock manager Derek McInnes has told his players they will be a success story for the second year running if they avoid the drop as he prepares for a major relegation battle at Tannadice.

Killie sit 10th in the cinch Premiership and there are multiple connotations ahead of their clash with bottom club Dundee United on Wednesday night.

The Ayrshire side could potentially relegate their opponents, make themselves safe, remain in a three-way battle to avoid the drop and the play-offs, or even find themselves bottom after the game.

McInnes led Killie to the Championship title last season after hauling back long-time leaders Arbroath and clinching the trophy in a head-to-head battle with their rivals at Rugby Park, and Wednesday’s encounter has a similar vibe.

“For weeks going into the last game of the season last year, we still weren’t odds-on to win the title,” he said. “It was Arbroath’s league and we still had it all to do.

“We are arguably maybe in a worse position than we were then and the prize is the same. We don’t get a trophy for staying in the league but the prize is being a Premiership team next season.

“We have tried to reinforce that to the players – that we can still succeed in what we set out to do this season.

“There’s been a lot of disappointment and frustration and I’m not going to try and dress that up, but we can still succeed in what we intended to do and that’s important we work towards that.”

McInnes accepts that nerves could play their part at Tannadice.

“I think it’s natural for that,” the former Aberdeen manager said. “There is always pressure when you are involved in football and I want to be there to help my players limit those nerves and just go and play the game.

“That can be difficult because everyone is well aware of the situation but it’s the same for all the teams round about us.

“We have played teams who maybe didn’t have quite the same pressure and now we are playing teams who have the same anxieties, fears and responsibility.

“We feel that responsibility and it’s my job and the staff’s job to try and allay those nerves and just deal with the game and concentrate more on the performance.

“There’s loads of different ways you can do that. You try and give confidence anyway. It’s our job as a staff to give confidence to the players.

“Equally it’s difficult to shut out the noise and the situation we are in. You wouldn’t want to. We are in a serious situation, as all the teams are.

“But we just want them to concentrate on trying to play without fear, play with courage and confidence.”

St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson faces their biggest game of the season with no experienced strikers available after Curtis Main picked up a knock at Celtic.

Main hit the post after netting a double in St Mirren’s 2-2 draw against the champions but is a doubt for Wednesday’s trip to face one of his former clubs, Aberdeen.

Tony Watt and Jonah Ayunga were already ruled out for the season while Alex Greive is struggling with a niggle and was not expected to feature again.

Lewis Jamieson, 21, and 19-year-old Kieran Offord could be in line to make their first Premiership starts of the season.

“Curtis Main has not trained since the game,” Saints manager Robinson said. “He has taken a knock but he had an X-ray and there is no break, but he is unlikely to train.

“I think he likes scoring against Aberdeen, he enjoyed his goals the last time, so he will do everything in his power to be fit.

“Alex Greive is with the physio running. We are just going to have to assess those two at the last minute.

“We have no senior fit strikers. We have young LJ and Kieran, who are very, very good young players, who may have to come into the fold, depending on where we are. We will have a session in the morning and see where we are.

“I have no qualms in throwing the two young boys in. As much as I want our senior strikers fit, especially after Curtis’s performance on Saturday, we will go with real belief whoever is in the team.”

Saints have been disappointed to lose leads against Hearts and Celtic in their last two matches but are only two points behind Hibernian with two games left in the battle for fifth and a possible European place.

Robinson is backing his side to play without fear and believes all the pressure is on Barry Robson’s Aberdeen following their defeat by Hearts on Saturday.

“We over-thought it at Hibs as a group, not to get beat, and didn’t play with our usual fluency, we didn’t press with our usual fluency, and we have just put that to bed,” he said.

“We spoke as a group and backed what we do: pressing teams how and when we want to press them, and getting on the ball and playing, and enjoying the occasion.

“We are under no pressure whatsoever. Nobody expected us to be here. Everyone expects Aberdeen to be third, everybody expects a fight between them and Hearts and Hibs.

“We shouldn’t be there in people’s eyes but we are, deservedly. We go there with no pressure but a real appetite to get a result.

“Barry’s done a tremendous job there but the expectations at Aberdeen are they should be in the top three.

“So that’s the pressures they have to live with. We will go there with a free mind and an energy to match them, because we will need to as they are a very good side.

“There can’t be any fear. We have everything to gain and Aberdeen have everything to lose.”

Roberto De Zerbi believes Moises Caicedo and Alexis Mac Allister “deserve to play in another level” but hopes European football can convince the in-demand duo to stick with Brighton.

Ecuador international Caicedo and Argentina World Cup winner Mac Allister continue to be heavily linked with summer transfers following standout seasons in Sussex.

Albion potentially strengthened their hopes of retaining two of their star performers by securing continental qualification with Sunday’s 3-1 Premier League win over relegated Southampton.

While De Zerbi feels that may prove persuasive, he does not wish to hamper the careers of the pair and concedes Wednesday evening’s match with Manchester City could be their final appearances in a Seagulls shirt at the Amex Stadium.

“It can be the last game but I don’t know,” said the Brighton head coach.

“They can have the possibility to change (clubs) because they deserve to play in another level.

“But now we can offer them the possibility to play in Europe because our level is bigger now. We can offer them one possibility more.”

Asked if a European place can make the difference, De Zerbi replied: “It can be. They can have more motivation. But they are very good guys.

“When I work, I think for myself, I think for my club but I think still for the players because the players have one career, one life and we can’t decide for them.

“I don’t know what Tony (Bloom, Brighton owner) can decide but if they want to leave, for myself, it’s right they leave.”

Albion will almost certainly finish sixth and be in the Europa League next term due to their goal difference being significantly better than Aston Villa’s but need one more point to banish any prospect of slipping into the Europa Conference League.

De Zerbi insists his side will not play for a draw against champions City as they attempt to cement their spot in the superior competition.

“The focus is to play seriously,” said the Italian, whose team conclude the campaign at Villa on Sunday.

“We want to play in the Europa League and to play in the Europa League we have to make another point.

“We can’t start the game to make one point. We have to think to win the game.

“We have a big, big, big target – bigger than Conference League because we expect Conference League.

“If we have the possibility to play in a more prestigious competition, we have to try it.”

City boss Pep Guardiola compared De Zerbi to a chef at a Michelin-starred restaurant ahead of the midweek clash on the south coast, while hailing him as one of the most influential managers of the last 20 years.

De Zerbi reciprocates that respect and praised the Spaniard for aiding his transition to life in England.

“I can’t forget that before I arrived here, I received his call and he helped me a lot in the first period,” De Zerbi said of Guardiola. “He was very nice with me.

“I can’t explain Guardiola. My opinion is he is the best coach in the Premier League and the best coach in the last 30 years. It’s my opinion but I think a lot of people think like me.”

Meanwhile, De Zerbi backed Seagulls captain Lewis Dunk for an international recall.

England boss Gareth Southgate will on Wednesday name his squad for next month’s Euro 2024 qualifiers against Malta and North Macedonia.

“He deserves to play in the national team,” De Zerbi said of defender Dunk, who won his only international cap in 2018.

“It’s not my work to decide the players of the national team but for us it should be a target. I hope he can play in the national team.”

Celtic have been handed a pre-Hampden boost after Alistair Johnston returned to training.

Johnston has been out since taking a heavy knock to his lower leg during Celtic’s Scottish Cup semi-final win over Rangers on April 30.

The Canada right-back will not feature in Wednesday’s cinch Premiership encounter with Hibernian at Easter Road but is in line to return against Aberdeen on Saturday, seven days before the cup final against Inverness.

Johnston was back in training on Tuesday morning and came through the session with no problems.

Manager Ange Postecoglou said: “All things being equal, if he gets through the rest of the week’s training he should be available for the weekend’s game.

“We will hopefully get him some game time at the weekend and assess it from there.

“He has worked really hard to get back with the cup final in mind. He has got back really well and worked hard with the medical team and looked after himself really well.

“It was good to see him training and good to see him part of it because he has obviously been a big part of the second half of the year.”

Celtic have only taken a point in two games since clinching the title and face a Hibs side who are still battling for a European place.

Postecoglou said: “We just go out there and try to play our football but we know the league is done.

“We can’t lose the league now, unless someone has brought in a new rule. The players are aware of that so I can’t go about pretending, trying to create some alternative universe where they are trying to achieve something they have already achieved.

“But we still want to enjoy our games and prepare for the cup final and the best way to do that is play our football and take each challenge as it comes.

“The players are training well and we want to finish the season strongly.”

Meanwhile, Postecoglou was completely unmoved by news from Rangers that several experienced players will be leaving Ibrox this summer including Allan McGregor and Scott Arfield.

When asked if he expected a tougher title challenge from their rivals next season, he said: “I don’t know why that would even concern me to be honest.

“This time last year Rangers were in a Europa League final and a Scottish Cup final, and they strengthened after the season didn’t they?

“So does anybody really care? Like, seriously. We didn’t start favourites in my first year and probably weren’t overwhelming favourites this year, so people will say what they want, mate. Everyone has got a plan until they are punched on the nose and then you kind of reassess from there.

“When we start next year, when the games start, everyone will see who is really strong and who isn’t strong and all that sort of stuff.

“Right now, league-wise anyway, it’s the equivalent of junk-time, mate, so we just get on with it.”

Livingston will have to pull out all the stops to deal with Motherwell goal machine Kevin van Veen on Wednesday night, according to assistant boss Neil Hastings.

The 31-year-old Dutchman scored in a ninth consecutive game when he netted a penalty in the ninth minute of stoppage time against Ross County on Saturday to seal three points.

Van Veen took his tally for the season to 27, form which earned him a nomination for the PFA cinch Premiership and Scottish Football Writers Association player of the year award.

Livingston are one point behind Well in eighth place and Hastings knows if they are to leapfrog the visiting Steelmen then they have to get everything right in dealing with Motherwell’s talisman.

He said: “Van Veen is a fantastic player and he has had a great season with the tail end of that being better than the start.

“Individually we will have to be as good as we can be, collectively as a group, will need to be on the money.

“Our goalkeeper will need to have a brilliant game. The whole team will have to be at the top of their game.

“We need to stop the source of balls into him, we have to deal with him individually, we need that little bit of luck.

“Hopefully he doesn’t have his shooting boots on and fingers crossed we can keep him quiet on the night.

“The remarkable thing is, for a team struggling for points over the season, for someone to get the return he has got is testament to him and also testament to the group of players he is playing with because they have to provide him.

“We will try to deal with him as best as we can on Wednesday night.

“Motherwell have been brilliant. A fantastic end to the season since Stuart Kettlewell took charge.

“First and foremost we will go through what we can do better from Saturday and look at areas where we did well but will treat the game completely different. It is a massive challenge.”

Hastings was referring to Livingston’s 2-1 win over bottom side Dundee United 2-1 on Saturday, their first win in four games.

He said: “We had a difficult couple of weeks not getting the results we were after but we have a very honest group and we had a lot of conversations and delighted to get back to winning ways on Saturday in front of the home fans.

“We will always look back with a bit of frustration and disappointment (at not making top-six) but we are always looking to survive and delighted to stay in the league for another year.”

Michael Beale admitted Scott Arfield’s departure “pulls at the heartstrings” as he paid tribute to a quintet of Rangers players leaving Ibrox this summer.

Colombia striker Alfredo Morelos, winger Ryan Kent, veteran goalkeeper Allan McGregor and long-term injured defender Filip Helander will also depart at the ends of their contracts.

The Govan club also announced that veteran midfielder Steven Davis – another player soon to be out of contract – “remains in discussions to continue working with the club’s medical team to support his return to full fitness following a long-term ACL injury suffered in December 2022”.

Midfielder Arfield, 34, has become a fans’ favourite since signing from Burnley in 2018, although he has found regular starts hard to come by recently.

Ahead of the final home cinch Premiership game of the season against Hearts on Wednesday night, where the players leaving will be given the chance to say their goodbyes, Beale spoke about Arfield in the most glowing terms.

“Scotty Arfield – it pulls on the heartstrings, big time,” he said. “As a man and as a person, he has been absolutely fantastic around the place.

“He is adored by the fans as well, not only (by) his team-mates and staff.

“That was a real amicable conversation between the two of us over the last couple of months around playing time, how the squad will look and what Scott needs moving forward as well.

“You have to live the reality. He is a key player and gives a lot of energy to the building and his team-mates, but he needs to feel he will be involved and play from the start or have a significant involvement, and I can’t promise him that.

“A difficult decision to come to, but I think it is right for all parties.”

Beale, who took over from Giovanni van Bronckhorst in November, promised a revamp of the Rangers squad for next season, having once again missed out on the Premiership title to Celtic, and admitted that, “as a group, we are losing a lot of experience and a lot of quality”.

McGregor, 41, is in his second spell at the club while 30-year-old Sweden defender Helander has not played since April 2022 due to a foot problem.

Morelos, 26, was signed from HJK Helsinki in 2017 for a reported fee of £1million while Kent, 26, joined from Liverpool permanently in September 2019 after an initial loan spell, with the fee reportedly around £6.5m.

Beale, former assistant coach at Ibrox under Steven Gerrard, said: “McGregor, Hall of Fame member, has been a fantastic servant for the club in two periods and has had many fantastic moments for this club where he has shown his class.

“We have not had Helander available for a long time through injury but his partnership with Connor Goldson was probably the foundation for the league-winning season in 2021 when we were invincible.

“Ryan Kent’s contribution has been fantastic, certainly in big matches, Europe and domestically.

“This season has not gone the way Ryan would like to go but an excellent player for Rangers.

“And Alfredo, for the outlay to what we got back, he has made an outstanding contribution to the club. Top goalscorer in Europe for Rangers and was player of the year last year.

“Their contributions to Rangers were huge.

“It is a sad day in many ways and I am sure the fans will show their appreciation (on Wednesday) night in the last home game.

“They have all made big contributions to the club but it is a sign that there will be change to the club this summer. You will start to see some announcements.”

After Sunday’s 3-1 win over Hibernian at Easter Road, Beale has Morelos, Borna Barisic, Glen Kamara, Scott Wright, Rabbi Matondo and Antonio Colak all back in training and will rotate his squad for the visit of Hearts.

He said: “We are unbeaten at home in the league this season. There is one game to go and we want to make sure we keep it like that.”

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola expects an inevitable drop off in intensity from his players now the Premier League has been retained but warned them that major challenges still lie in wait.

A fifth title in six years was attained following Arsenal’s defeat at Nottingham Forest on Saturday, which essentially gave City three ‘free’ games until the end of the domestic campaign.

They have already dispensed with Chelsea and Brighton follow on Wednesday before Brentford on the final day, but the bigger picture is the FA Cup final against Manchester United and the Champions League final against Inter Milan.

“They have the party after the (Chelsea) game. I don’t know how they feel,” said Guardiola.

“They have to be ready to run a lot. The best way to prepare for the final is be ready. The players set the standards, they have to maintain it.

“It’s normal the energy would drop. Arsenal play for just the Premier League, we have FA Cup, Champions League, the energy we spend is massive.

“It’s normal you drop, you have to avoid it or don’t drop much otherwise the two teams (Brighton and Brentford) can hurt us.

“Play our game, adapt the way we play, arrive to United and Inter in the best condition possible.”

Guardiola has plenty of options at his disposal in terms of being able to keep his players fresh, so there should be no excuse for a huge drop off in performance.

Against Chelsea he made nine changes, allowing him to be able to bring on the likes of 52-goal striker Erling Haaland, playmaker Kevin De Bruyne, Rodri and John Stones while not even using Jack Grealish or the in-form Ilkay Gundogan.

That meant a first Premier League start for Kalvin Phillips, who has had a difficult debut season since arriving from Leeds for £42million.

Guardiola insists all his squad still have a part to play.

“Everyone can have influence, sometimes five minutes is as important as the rest,” he added.

“Everyone has been important, everyone has been involved in the fact we are where we are.”

The City boss, however, remains wary of Brighton, who are riding the crest of a wave having qualified for Europe for the first time in their history.

Guardiola is a huge fan of the work done by Roberto De Zerbi since taking over from Graham Potter.

“Congratulations for Brighton for this incredible achievement for the Europa League,” he said.

“Pay attention to what I’m going to say. I’m pretty convinced I’m right in what I’m saying: I think Roberto is one of the most influential managers in the last 20 years.

“There is no team playing the way they play, it’s unique. I have the feeling when he arrived the impact he would have in the Premier League would be great – I didn’t expect them to do it in this short space of time.

“If you don’t play at a high level he can do whatever he wants against you. They deserve completely the compliments and the success they have, one of the teams I try to learn a lot from.

“Brighton is the master of passing the ball to the man free, but also when to pass to the free man.

“They move at the right time, this is the best at the world, for the right tempo and the free man.”

Kevin Nisbet admits Wednesday’s cinch Premiership match at home to Celtic could be his last at Easter Road as a Hibernian player.

The prolific 26-year-old has regularly been linked with transfers away from the Hibees since joining from Dunfermline in 2020 and a proposed £2.3million move to Millwall fell through in January when the striker – who had just returned from long-term injury – decided he would prefer to remain in Edinburgh “for the time being”.

With just one year left on his contract and little prospect of Hibs being able to tie their prized asset to a new deal, it is widely expected that a fully-fit Nisbet will be sold this summer.

Asked on Tuesday if it was in his mind that the Celtic match could be his last at Easter Road, he said: “It could, yeah. But for me it’s just about focusing on the game and then focusing on the Hearts game (at Tynecastle on Saturday).

“All the other stuff is put to the side until after the season and then we’ll take it from there. For me, it’s just about putting a good performance on against Celtic and trying to get three points.”

Nisbet remained coy when pressed further on how he expects this summer to pan out.

“I’m not really too sure,” he said. “I’ve not really thought into it. My agent and the club are in good dialogue with each other and I’ve said I kind of want to stay out of it. I just want to focus on finishing the season well.”

Nisbet would like to see Hibs get a good fee in return for his services.

“Of course I do,” he said. “This is my third season here and I’ve got a good connection with the club. They’ve been great to me so if I can return the investment, that would be great for all parties.”

Nisbet – whose openness about the possibility of leaving has not always endeared him to supporters – is pleased that he will likely leave on good terms with the Hibees after scoring 10 goals since his return from an ACL injury in December, while also snubbing Millwall to stay at Easter Road.

“I’ve loved it,” he said of playing in front of the Hibs fans. “There’s been a wee bit of ups and downs between me and the supporters.

“But after coming back from the injury, I think I’ve created that connection back with the fans which I’ve been delighted about because it did hurt me a lot when I didn’t really have that connection with the fans.

“I love the club. The club has been good to me and I’ve been good to the club so it will be good to see the supporters out in force (against Celtic).”

Asked if he felt he had been vindicated in staying at Hibs instead of signing for Millwall, Nisbet said: “Yeah, of course. I wanted to come back and stay and play well.

“I’ve been there before where January moves have fallen through and I think I didn’t deal with it previously as well as I did this time.

“I wanted to come back and enjoy my football – and I have.”

Having been sidelined by injury from February to December last year, Nisbet feels he is now back in prime condition and ready to be considered for a Scotland recall for the Euro 2024 qualifiers against Norway and Georgia next month.

“It’s been an enjoyable return to play,” he said. “I don’t think a lot of people expected me to come back the way I did.

“I’ve probably come back a better player as well. I knew in my head I would but there were a lot of doubters so it’s good to silence the doubters a bit as well.

“It was a long and very lonely nine months out but I put in a lot of hard work and I think people can see with my performances how hard I actually worked.

“The last Scotland camp (in March) was maybe a bit too soon because I was only a few months into my return to play but I’ve had a good five, six months now and I feel better physically.

“I’m sharper and fitter than ever, so hopefully I get selected.”

Arsenal forward Bukayo Saka has signed a new long-term contract.

The 21-year-old England international has scored 14 goals in all competitions this season as well as providing 11 assists.

Saka told the club website: “I’m just really happy. There’s been a lot of talking and it’s been a while, but I’m here now. I think this is the right club, the right place to make the next step. It’s a beautiful club – look where we are.

“For me, it’s about achieving my personal ambitions – how much I push myself and demand from myself each game, week in, week out. Then I have all the right people around me in terms of family, and when I come to the training ground, my team-mates, the coaching staff.

“I think I have everything I need to become the best player I can be, and that’s why I’m happy to stay here and be here for the future, because I really believe that we can achieve big things.”

Saka made his Gunners debut in November 2018 and has made 178 appearances in red and white.

He added: “I have seen a lot of change. I’ve seen this team and the club grow, and one thing that everyone around us can be excited about is that we are going in the right direction.

“Time is on our side. You can look at our team and a lot of the players are young. We’re hungry, and a lot of us haven’t won trophies at Arsenal so we want to achieve big things. If you watch the way we all speak, we want to win and we want to win here.

“It’s been too long since this club has had Champions League football. I’m really looking forward to Tuesday and Wednesday nights in this stadium, the atmosphere is going to be special.”

Saka joins goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale in signing a new deal in the last few days.

Boss Mikel Arteta said: “It’s great for the club that Bukayo has extended his contract. Retaining our best young talents is key to our continued progress and Bukayo represents such an important part of our squad now and for the future.

“As well as being a fantastic talent, Bukayo is a special person, he’s loved by us all and he is a credit to himself and his family for the hard work and commitment they have all made to get to this level today.

“Together with our supporters, we’re so looking forward to enjoying Bukayo’s continued development with us in the years to come.”

The fight for Premier League survival reaches its climax on Sunday with three clubs still scrapping for their top-flight lives.

Two of Everton, Leicester and Leeds will join already-relegated Southampton in the Sky Bet Championship next season on what is set to be a dramatic final day of the campaign.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at what each club needs to happen if they are to avoid the drop.

Everton

Opposition: Bournemouth (h)

Position: 17th

Points: 33

Goal difference: -24

The equation is simple for the Toffees: win and their fears are over regardless of what happens elsewhere. Anything less could prove fatal.

A draw would open the door for Leicester to leapfrog them on goal difference with a win, while Leeds could also overhaul them on goals scored with victory by three or more.

However, Everton would be safe even in defeat if both the Foxes and Leeds failed to win.

Leicester

Opposition: West Ham (h)

Position: 18th

Points: 31

Goal difference: -18

Victory is the only option for Dean Smith’s men and even then, it might not prove enough.

Leicester also need Everton not to win – defeat for the Toffees would keep them up by a point, while a draw at Goodison would edge City to safety on goal difference.

Leeds

Opposition: Tottenham (h)

Position: 19th

Points: 31

Goal difference: -27

Like the Foxes, Leeds must win and even then, they would have to keep their fingers crossed that both Everton and Leicester did not.

In the event that Everton drew, they would need to make up three clear goals to leapfrog them.

At the same time, Sam Allardyce’s men would have to achieve an improbable goal swing – they head into the weekend nine worse off – to edge past Leicester if they managed to beat West Ham.

Hearts midfielder Cammy Devlin is relishing a high-stakes finale to the season as Hearts aim to continue hunting down Aberdeen and secure European group-stage football.

The Jambos pulled off a potentially huge victory over the Dons on Saturday to cut the gap between the teams from five points to two in the battle for third place in the cinch Premiership.

Hearts travel to Rangers on Wednesday and host city rivals Hibernian on Saturday, while the Dons welcome St Mirren before finishing away to Celtic.

Devlin knows it will be a “special” ending to the season if his side can pip the Reds and secure third place – and the financial and European rewards that go with it – for the second year running.

“Being a professional footballer you want to play in the big pressure games,” said the Australia international. “For all of us being fortunate enough to be at a club like Hearts, that pressure is normal.

“It’s about building yourself up for the games and being up for it, and there’s no excuses for not being up for it.

“On Saturday, as individuals and as a team, we showed we are up for it. We’ve got massive games coming up and it could be very special, but we’ve just got to control what we can control and hopefully make that happen.”

Devlin is adamant Hearts never gave up hope of finishing third even though Aberdeen, who won eight games out of nine before the split, seemed to be marching clear in recent months.

“I don’t think we’ve ever taken our mind off third,” he said. “That’s where we know we need to be. Obviously there was a period there where we as players weren’t good enough, but I think you can see now where we want to be.

“We look like we’re turning it around. Saturday was a massive result and it showed how hungry we are to give back to the people who pay to come and watch us home and away, and hopefully we can finish that off in the last two games.”

Hearts had 30 goal attempts against Aberdeen and 38 in their recent 6-1 victory over Ross County.

Devlin has enjoyed the “front-foot” football Steven Naismith has encouraged since being appointed interim manager in April and the midfielder feels that approach is essential for Wednesday’s match with Rangers at Ibrox, a venue at which the Jambos have not won in nine years.

“We’ve found it tough against Rangers, they are a very good team, there’s no shying away from that,” said Devlin.

“But since Naisy’s come in we’ve changed a few things. A few results haven’t been ideal, but I think the football we’ve been playing has been attractive to watch and as a player it’s enjoyable to be playing attacking football on the front foot.

“The defensive side of it is so important (at Ibrox), but we need to go and score more goals than them.

“Naisy won’t want to set us up defensively because that’s not the coach he is and (assistants) Frankie (McAvoy) and Gordy (Gordon Forrest) aren’t like that.

“As players you never want to sit back on your box inviting pressure, that’s not enjoyable for any player, so we certainly won’t be doing that.

“Naisy wants us to play attacking football and take any opportunity to go forward and put pressure on the opponent. He’s instilling that into the players and I think it’s showing.”