NEU » has avoided castigation for refusing the pre-fig

Robbie Neilson says Hearts will have a big say in who wins the Scottish Premiership this season even if he doubts their own chances of taking the title. The Tynecastle side face leaders Celtic on Saturday lunchtime, live on Sky Sports 2, and meet second-placed Aberdeen next Friday, with a trip to Inverness sandwiched in between.Victories against each of the top two would do a lot to thrust his team back into contention ahead of the final five games after the league splits. With Hearts 13 points off the top, however, Neilson knows it is asking a lot of his team to get back into the reckoning with eight games remaining.Head coach Neilson told Sky Sports News HQ: Its a big ask. Its three difficult games starting off at Parkhead on Saturday. Celtic are four points clear of Aberdeen at the top with a game in hand Weve got to focus on that one and then hopefully take care of that then look to ahead the next two.Were going to have a big say in the title race about where it goes. Its going to be very difficult for us to get anywhere near them. Aberdeen are the target and then Celtic are a little bit ahead of them as well. Were just going to try to win on Saturday then well take it from there.Weve drawn the last two games with Celtic so were starting to improve. Theyre the main team in Scotland, so its always difficult to beat them.But we feel were in a good place at the moment. Were confident to go to Parkhead and get a result. Hearts have drawn twice with Celtic this season Hearts will return to play after the international break looking to respond positively to their 3-0 home defeat against St Johnstone on March 19.The result followed four consecutive victories and Neilson is eager to return to that good form in Glasgow. Hearts lost their last game 3-0 at home to St Johnstone He added: It was a disappointing result. We lost two goals from set plays in the early stages of the game and it was difficult to get back in it.But weve just got to take that on the chin. Were in a good position in the league and we have to try to consolidate third position and aim higher if we can. Get Sky Sports Alerts Breaking news, line ups and goal alerts from your football club - direct to your mobile Also See: Scottish Premiership video Fixtures Table Live on Sky Taylor Decker Jersey Retro . The 43-year-old closer, in his 19th and final big league season, has said hed like to play the outfield. Yankees manager Joe Girardi says hes thinking about allowing Rivera to do it this weekend, when the Yankees finish their season with a three-game series at the Houston Astros. Walt Merrill Jersey Retro . 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Open champion Justin Rose birdied the first hole with a blind shot he hit to a foot of the pin, and he stayed in front Tuesday until he completed a 4-under 67 for a two-shot lead over Jason Dufner in PGA Grand Slam of Golf.Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey sat peerless as the unbeatable king and queen of the cage yet it is only now they have been exposed as mere civilians that they can prove their true greatness. The UFC hotshots carried their sport on their shoulders, jostling for all-time records and finishing foes in quicker and quicker times. Street artists painted overbearing murals of their likeness in OConnell Street and Venice Beach that looked protectively over the people of Dublin and California. But in recent times, McGregor and Rousey have been dealt harsh reminders that they have the same vulnerabilities as the rest of us.Their fearsome reputations have been shattered by defeat, McGregor last weekend and Rousey in November. It will be of little solace to be reminded that even iconic boxer Muhammad Ali was knocked off his pedestal and forced to clamber back up, making him greater than ever before. McGregor, 27, and Rousey, 29, have ample time to recover but their polar opposite relationship with the idea of defeat begs an interesting question as to the best method of dominating a sport. These things happen in MMA. I took a chance and it didnt work out. Conor McGregor Nobody knows what failure feels like more than I do and thats why Im the person who walks in there willing to die in order to win, Rousey dramatically stated days before losing her world time and undefeated record to Holly Holm. Her intense fear of failure drove her to the top, yet McGregor joined her at the pinnacle by embracing risk and reward. These things happen in MMA, he said last weekend after losing to Nate Diaz after voluntarily fighting 25lbs higher than usual. I took a chance and it didnt work out. But whose approach will see them re-emerge?They have both suffered crushing defeats prior to their UFC prime. Rousey, the daughter of Americas first judo world champion, followed her mothers sporting example but failed to win gold at the 2008 Olympics after a lifetime of preparation. Just two months earlier McGregor lost his third pro MMA fight by submission, a skill-set he previously had no interest in. That summer, two future fighting greats walked out of their respective gyms and slammed the door shut behind them. Ronda Rousey never accomplished her childhood dream of an Olympic gold He was only 20 when he lost the first time, McGregors striking coach Owen Roddy told Sky Sports. He went missing for a while, it was a hard loss for him. It was in Crumlin and there was a lot of support for him. He gave up training for nearly a year but then came back, realising he couldnt just go out with the lads.Rouseys Olympic coach Jimmy Pedro told Sky Sports: She was tired of judo, didnt want to grind for another four years before the next Olympics, and wanted something bigger. In judo she got a decent amount of wins by armbar but she couldnt do it to everyone. She wasnt a gold medal winner in every event. She never won the world championships. In the Olympics, she took a bronze once. But she wasnt dominating the major events. Nobody knows what failure feels like more than I do and thats why Im the person who walks in there willing to die in order to win. Ronda Rousey Perhaps a telling sign that McGregor and Rouseys fate would be to headline million-dollar Las Vegas events is the way they failed to adapt outside of the gym. The Irishman has told of his misery at waking up at dawn to work as a plumber, while Rouseys autobiography details difficulties as a barmaid whose Olympic medal was of little use. On opposite sides of the Atlantic, a pair of troublesome early-twentysomethings still hadnt found their calling. McGregor had to be begged back into the gym by concerned coaches, while Rouseys judo coach Pedro remembers she rebelled against her mother - she wasnt disciplined like she is today.Further significant setbacks would await both, years before their defeats on the UFC stage. McGregor eventually stumbled back into the Straight Blast Gym, where he still calls home, but lost another fight by submission in 2010. After his second loss he was more mature, said coach Roddy. He came back to the gym the following week to correct his mistakes. From then on, he was open to every aspect of the game. Anywhere he felt lacking, he focused all his time there. Instead of shying away he threw himself in att the deep end.dddddddddddd He went over to Iceland to train his ground game and came back more Zen. Conor McGregor (left) improved into a much better fighter after his second defeat There has never been anything Zen about the fierce Rousey who, around the same time as McGregors second loss, spent months grafting for acceptance at the Glendale Fighting Club who were skeptical of a woman in a mans world. Her first MMA fights were won at a canter, but at a time when women in the cage were consigned to the underground. Money remained tight for both McGregor and Rousey in those days but they believed, for different reasons, in a distant dream.My goal is to be the best version of myself that is possible - and the best version is the greatest fighter of all time, McGregor told Sky Sports in January 2015 after four UFC wins. When a guy like me comes along with the number of people that I bring with me, everyone else has to step aside. I feel like a veteran now. I have found comfort in this circus. I find comfort in the uncomfortable. Days after telling Sky Sports about his goal, McGregor beat Dennis Siver to set up a world title shot But Rousey never allowed herself to be comfortable, even after pioneering females in the UFC and becoming an undefeated, inaugural womens champion. While McGregor grew through the knowledge of defeat, Rousey was motivated by the horror of repeating her failures. There are only a few people who truly hate losing more than they enjoy winning, Rouseys ex-coach Pedro remembered. Two opposite approaches met in a cacophony of sporting triumph throughout 2014 and 2015, and the money and fame followed. Life was good at the top - Rousey was cast in multiple Hollywood blockbusters, McGregor revelled in designer suits driving Rolls-Royces. But when the cage locked, they could fight, and they reminded us frequently of their own brilliance.Ive endured the worst losses possible, Rousey said in November before fighting Holm. I lost the finals at the [judo] world championships when I wanted to be world champ like my mother. My dream since I was a little kid was to win at the Olympics and I failed twice. For every other girl in the division, its easier for them to lose and go home with a pay check. Ive lost enough in my life. That startling reality-check came after three previous opponents had lasted a total of 64 seconds. Rousey spoke about the ghosts of defeat prior to a KO loss to Holly Holm Rousey-Holm talking points Was it a fluke? What did we learn? Rousey lost by knockout to Holm and has retreated from public life ever since. The appearances in Hollywood were limited to one Saturday Night Live hosting gig, while criticism poured in from everybody from Donald Trump to Justin Bieber while she laid low. It seems typical that Rouseys defeat, amid her mothers criticism of her coach and a refusal to travel to the fight in Australia, seems catastrophic while McGregors last weekend feels like a bump in the road.McGregor has avoided castigation for refusing the pre-fight touch of gloves, while an identical act saw Rousey hammered by US Presidential candidate Trump. Perhaps Rouseys fear of failure strikes closer to home than the brave dice-rolling that led to McGregors loss.Their returns to the Octagon, as with their lives and careers, will follow different paths. The UFC have lost the two unbeatable, all-conquering machines that defined their sport but the humanisation of the beatable McGregor and Rousey makes their journeys to legendary status even more admirable. McGregor-Diaz talking points Did he bite off more than he could chew? Also See: McGregor-Diaz talking points Rousey-Holm talking points Rousey admits fear of defeat Diaz submits McGregor McGregor predicts greatness ' ' '