Three games in a week,three wins as the Hoops build up to one of the biggest weeks of their season so far with a massive Europa League match against old foes Rapid Vienna on Thursday live on Channel 5 and then next Sunday the first Old Firm against the Champions Rangers at Ibrox which is live on Sky Sports.

If anyone would have told me at about ten past three last Sunday that Celtic would win 2-1 over Hearts and then go on to win 4-0 in the Co-op Cup against Falkirk before beating St.Mirren 2-0 and then sit and watch rivals Rangers fight out a 0-0 draw with Aberdeen mening their third 0-0 draw of the season so far in the league to leave the Hoops sitting four points clear before going to Ibrox,I would have laughed at them but strangely enough this is exactly what happened!

I had gone to Celtic Park last Sunday knowing that this Hearts team would give Celtic problems but I did not expect the Jambos to take the lead so early in the match through a strike from Santana which took not only me,John and over 50,000 odd thousand by surprise but also Artur Boruc and the Celtic defence also seemed to be caught cold.

As the match wore on and chances came and went for the home side,the nerves of the home support seemed to be shreading until some quick thinking by Shaun Maloney as he caught out the Hearts defence as they thought a block from Balogh was heading out for a corner but Shaun moved quickly and crossed the ball perfectly for Killen who was rushing in at the back post to plant a header into the roof of the net to bring the Hoops a well deserved equaliser.

It did seem that it would be only a matter of time before Celtic would score but they did have to endure a few scary moments before they did,including a mix up between Gary Caldwell and Artur Boruc,as Caldwell allowed the Hearts attacker to run passed him and only a block from the Celtic keeper's arm and an eventual clearance from the under fire defender resulted in Boruc and Caldwell having an arguement,with the Celtic number one leaving Caldwell in no doubt who was the boss!

As the match moved towards its end the board that went up to signal 4 minutes of injury time to be played,the home side smelt blood and as a corner was swung in causing the Hearts defence all sorts of problems Loovens headed the winner to send Celtic Park wild and his team back to the top of the pile!

Tony Mowbray's side then left the SPL behind as they went to play Falkirk in the Co-op Cup in midweek and three major talking points came out of that match.
1)The result - a 4-0 away win for the Hoops
2)The performance/goal from Paddy McCourt,classic solo goal with a superb finish to end
3)The injury to Aiden McGeady as Celts were 3-0 up did the manager really need to give him a run out?

Celtic now face Hearts on October 28th in a match that will be screened live on BBC Scotland.

On Friday,new signing Zheng Zhi was welcomed to Celtic Park as he completed his move to the Hoops but he did not sign in time for the group stages of the Europa League but he will be a welcome addition to Tony Mowbray's squad as he can play in defence or in midfield.

On Saturday lunchtime the Paddy McCourt show,no sorry Celtic travelled to Paisey for a match against St.Mirren and despite a poor performance,again it was the goal and performance by Paddy McCourt again that saw them through.

Much has been said and written about Paddy and his time at Celtic and he is now doing his best to let his boots do the talking and they are pure poetry in motion at the moment and this could leave Tony Mowbray with a nice problem come the Old Firm match,surely Paddy must get a start right Tony?

Goals from McCourt and Maloney gave Celtic a well earned win in Paisley but all talk and attention now turns to two massive matches this week against Rapid and Rangers.

The history behind the 25 years of hurt after the defeat by Rapid has gathered much pace since the Europa League draw has thrown both clubs together again and some of the mind games that have gone on with Rapid saying that they would wear the same colour of strip as they did when they knocked Celtic out of the Cup Winners Cup at Old Trafford,a statement that has now been overturned!

Former Celtic players,Frank McGarvey and Peter Grant have also spoken out about Rapid's antics on that fateful night at Celtic Park and how they have no class and no respect for Celtic,indeed Peter Grant did admit to having his Everton scarf on the night that the Toffees took revenge on Rapid by beating them 3-1 in the Cup Winners Cup Final back in 1985 and he was not the only one! Many Celtic fans had travelled to Rotterdam to cheer on Howard Kendall's men to victory and there was even a banner from the Everton support saying,"This should have been Celtic!" Lets hope that this time Celtic get revenge and right the wrongs against Rapid on Thursday!

The Rangers match will take care of itself on Sunday with,as always,form going out of the window! Rangers themselves have a massive match in the Champions League against Sevilla and this will be a tough test for Walter,Ally and the Gers and maybe the will prove so many people wrong against a team (rather a city)that will bring back so many great memories to Celtic fans after being there for the 2003 UEFA Cup Final v Porto and the many friends we made on our travels,Johnny and Mo,you are indeed the King and Queen of Seville!

I don't buy into some Rangers fans already calling for Walter Smith's head,in fact I think that both of the Old Firm teams will get positive results ahead of their clash at Ibrox on Sunday-it would be good for the Scottish game!