CELTIC did Mark McGhee's side Motherwell a huge favour at the weekend when they defeated Hibs, thus ensuring the Steelmen could not be caught for third place in the SPL.

Now everyone at Parkhead hopes the Fir Park side can reciprocate by derailing Rangers' championship charge when Walter Smith's men go there on Saturday.

Celtic need Rangers to drop points in one of their final three games if the destination of the title is to be thrust back into the hands of the reigning champions.

And the match on Fir Park's dodgy surface has long-since been considered the one most likely to trip them up.

The nagging fear is that, with the Uefa Cup place now decided, the prospect of Rangers facing fired-up opposition has been all-but eliminated as the natural reaction for Motherwell players will be to consider it job done for the season.

However, Gordon Strachan invited anyone who holds such a cynical opinion to cast their minds back three years to when Well put Celtic to the sword under virtually the same circumstances.

That infamous day in May 2005 saw the title wrenched from the Parkhead club's hands as Scott McDonald scored two late goals which meant nothing to Motherwell but everything to Rangers.

Which is why Strachan retains strong belief that this championship has many more twists and turns to negotiate before either Celtic or Rangers can be crowned the winner.

He said: "Can I just take people back to when Motherwell played Celtic in 2005. What did Motherwell have to play for that day? Nothing. Yet they kept battling to the very end.

"People who have never been to this level in the game don't realise the pride these players have, and once the game starts it is that pride which takes over.

"If you have not got that, you can't understand what I am talking about and you will talk in terms of having nothing to play for.

"It's the same when we go to play Dundee United on the final day. Could we have a harder game, other than going to Ibrox, maybe? I don't think so."

Strachan is acutely aware that Craig Levein's side will be something of a wounded animal, given the pain they suffered against Rangers at the weekend.

And, like Hibs on Sunday, Levein's decent passing side will revel in the better conditions which come with playing at this time of the season.

Strachan's own team struggled when the surfaces were poor, and he is happy that the title will be fought out on something more like a level playing field.

He gets annoyed at suggestions the eventual winners will be the best of a bad lot, and has been upset by much of the criticism hurled at the game in this country over recent seasons.

He asks only that people take time to consider the bigger picture and said: "The environment to show our product has to be better.

"You could see that on Sunday. Look at our game against Hibs on a good surface and then look at last week's game at Motherwell. There was no comparison. Absolutely none.

"Then you have got to say to yourself, we got to the last 16 of the Champions League, Rangers are in the Uefa Cup Final and Aberdeen did well against Bayern Munich in the same competition.

"The Scottish national team did well in Euro 2008, and Fifa confirm our ranking is the highest it has been since the early Eighties.

"So there has to be a lot going right. We have taken our football beyond where we have been for the last four or five years.

"And we have done this with a lot less money, both Rangers and Celtic, Aberdeen as well.

"But you will always get those who try to talk our game down. There are always those who will moan, and they now have so many platforms on which to do that."

Strachan's passion is matched only by his acceptance that, no matter how analysis is done, the bottom line is winning trophies.

"We always understand that," he agreed. "When people look at the figures in 10 or 15 years time, they will only look at the fact we won the SPL title three seasons in a row or that we lost it the third year to Rangers.

"But, no matter what happens, I believe there is a lot we can be proud of this year."

Strachan went on: "With a game still to go, we have more points than we achieved last season. In saying that, last time the title was won with four or five games still to go.

"We have scored more goals this time, and we have conceded fewer. That's despite being told we have a poor defence when actually they have the best record in the league."

Another shutout at the weekend has sent Strachan's defenders into this enforced break happy with their form.

The down time will be spent by all of the players honing the skills which have taken them to seven straight wins.

Strachan would rather they were back in action sooner, but he won't risk injury at such a crunch time by arranging any bounce games.

"That was mooted," he revealed, "but it quickly got knocked on the head.

"We did not want to think about what exactly we would do in terms of giving them days off or anything like that until we got the Hibs game out of the way because, depending on the result, it would have been a different scenario mentally."

As it is, it looks like being the perfect scenario for those who like photo-finishes. And if that does not make people smile, then nothing will.