Can Hearts beat the Old Firm to Premiership glory?

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“We shall not be moved” rung out from the away end as Hearts beat Kilmarnock to move five points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership.

Based on the form of Derek McInnes’ side, and the struggles of Celtic and Rangers – could the Jambos’ fans be right?

What was Bloom’s message in the summer?

A few eyebrows were raised when new shareholder Tony Bloom boldly predicted Hearts could finish second this season and even win the Premiership “within the next 10 years”.

The Brighton owner stressed his belief in the club’s “ability to disrupt the pattern of domination of Scottish football which has been in place for far too long”.

Head coach Derek McInnes told Sky Sports that Bloom’s comments had made people “sit up and take notice” but, after they first moved top of the table, he pointed out they were probably “a million miles” from most believing Hearts were real title contenders.

Fast forward a few weeks and they are now the only team still unbeaten in the Scottish Premiership this season, and five points ahead of champions Celtic with Rangers trailing a further eight behind the Hoops.

The English entrepreneur, who has a 29 per cent stake in the Jambos in non-voting shares, also transformed the fortunes of Union Saint-Gilloise after investing in 2018. They won the Belgian title last season for the first time since 1935.

How have things started this season?

It was a season to forget for Hearts last term, with McInnes brought in with the hope of returning to the top six and securing European football.

Seven wins and one draw is probably more than even the club’s biggest fans expected from their first eight games, but the last-gasp Edinburgh derby win against Hibs added to the belief they could do something special this season.

Hearts conceded six goals in their first four league games of the season as many questioned the fragility of their defence. They have won their last four matches while keeping a clean sheet.

They have won 2-0 away to Rangers – their first victory at Ibrox since 2014 – with a top-of-the-table clash against Celtic on October 26, live on Sky Sports.

Why new signings have been key

Hearts are now in partnership with the same Jamestown Analytics data firm that has underpinned the success Bloom has enjoyed in establishing his beloved Brighton in the Premier League and as a shareholder of USG.

The recruitment tool helped in the signing of 10 new players over the summer. Claudio Braga, Alex Kyziridis and Stuart Findlay have made immediate impacts with 10 goals and five assists between them so far in the Premiership.

Experienced German goalkeeper Alexander Schwolow joined on a two-year deal at the end of the window and has yet to concede a goal.

On Saturday, he set a new record as he became the first Hearts No 1 to keep clean sheets in each of his first four matches for the club.

Striker Lawrence Shankland was out of contract, but opted to stay under McInnes and is returning to form – he has already scored four goals in the Premiership, which was his total last season.

There is also Craig Halkett. The centre-back struggled with injury last season, only managing 17 league appearances.

He has started every game this season, scoring in each of the last three.

Old Firm woes

While Hearts are blooming, the Old Firm are floundering.

Celtic have won the title 13 times in the last 14 seasons, but there is unrest off the pitch with the players struggling on it.

They were stunned by Dundee on Sunday, losing at Dens Park for the first time in 37 years, leaving the Jambos five points clear.

That was the end of the Hoops’ unbeaten start, having already drawn with Rangers and Hibernian this campaign.

Managerless Rangers were held to a draw at home to Dundee United, meaning the side expected to be Celtic’s main challengers are well off the pace.

Will there ever be a better season for Hearts to seize their opportunity?

What do the history books tell us?

Glasgow’s big two are struggling, but it is still likely they can reach points tallies non-Old Firm clubs cannot find the consistency to come close to.

Closing the sizeable margin between second and third could prove hard enough. The average distance between the two spots over the past five seasons is 22 points.

Hearts (74) will likely also have to smash their top-flight points record to stand a chance of even finishing second – Rangers failed to win 16 games over the course of the 2024-25 Premiership campaign, yet they finished 17 points clear of Hibs in third.

Aberdeen’s collapse last term could be a reason to dampen the optimism at Tynecastle.

Jimmy Thelin’s side won 10 of their first 11 league games and were at one stage 12 points clear of Rangers, who then ended the campaign 22 ahead of the Dons.

Hearts made a similar league start in 2005, winning eight of their first 10 games to top the Scottish Premier League before George Burley was sacked due to an uneasy relationship with then major shareholder Vladimir Romanov.

The team did finish the season in second place, 17 points behind Celtic, but fans are still wondering ‘what could have been’ without the managerial turmoil.

Is Celtic clash a marker for the title race?

Sunday 26th October 11:00am


Kick off 12:00pm

Hearts welcome Celtic to Tynecastle on Sunday for their biggest game of the season so far, live on Sky Sports.

They are, of course, currently top but beating the champions would open up an eight-point gap while also providing a huge psychological boost.

Celtic struggled against Dundee on Sunday, which led manager Brendan Rodgers to once again bemoan their transfer business and a perceived lack of quality brought into the club.

They spent around £15m while Hearts paid a total of £2.97m for their summer additions. Can squad strength really be to blame?

There is no doubt of the unrest between the Hoops fans and the board, while at Tynecastle there is unity.

A strong start could see the travelling support turn which might, just might, hand another win to the team in maroon.

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