Celtic midfielder Paul Hartley praised manager Gordon Strachan's "man-management skills" after the Hoops blew open the SPL title race.After consecutive defeats to Rangers at Ibrox and Motherwell at Parkhead in late March and early April gave the Light Blues a six-point lead with two matches in hand, most fans and pundits believed the SPL trophy to be heading to Govan.

However, the champions have bounced back with four wins on the trot with Sunday's 3-2 victory against Rangers at Parkhead following a 2-1 Old Firm win at the same venue just under a fortnight ago.

Celtic find themselves five points clear of Walter Smith's side and although Rangers have three matches in hand, the pressure has moved from Parkhead over to the other side of the city.

Hartley, 31, explained how Strachan has kept his players positive in recent weeks.

He said: "Gordon tries to pick you up. He has great man-management skills and that's the secret of his success.

"He hurts as much as the players when we suffer a defeat.

"The Old Firm are the two biggest teams in Scotland and the pressure to win every game is enormous.

"Every game is a must-win game for us, the fans don't accept anything else.

"So it's been good in the last four or five weeks and after a fantastic win over Rangers 11 days ago, we were pleased to win again on Sunday.

"We have put pressure on Rangers but we know they have three games in hand.

"All we can do is win every game and see where it takes us."

The Scotland midfielder insists the Parkhead side were worth their win in an entertaining game which had its usual fair share of controversy and drama.

Scott McDonald's first-half double was cancelled out by headers from David Weir and Daniel Cousin, both from Steven Davis corners.

Celtic edged the second half and grabbed the winner through a Barry Robson penalty.

"I thought it was a fantastic advert for Scottish football," Hartley told talkSport.

"The atmosphere was absolutely fantastic and it was just a great game to play in.

"Defending set-pieces is usually our strong point but it was just one of those games and thankfully we managed to get the three points.

"Scott McDonald missed a penalty in the last Old Firm game and

so Barry was on penalty duty for this one.

"He put his foot through the ball and it managed to go in.

"But I thought we were by far the better team in the second half."

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