The rise of Hearts in Scottish football: Tony Bloom's quadruple, stats of champions, sick Celtic and Rangers

The Brighton and Hove Albion chairman saw his Seagulls defeat Newcastle United 2-1 on Saturday to move back into the top half of the English Premier League, while at the same time, over at Ascot his horse Crown Of Oaks won the valuable Balmoral Stakes.

And on Saturday night, one of his other major sporting interests - Union Saint-Gilloise - won 3-1 at home to Charleroi to move three points clear at the top of the Belgian Super League.

That was the final leg of his Saturday quadruple, though. One hundred and twenty minutes beforehand, his most recent investment - Heart of Midlothian - defeated Kilmarnock 3-0 at Rugby Park to strengthen their grip at the summit of the Scottish Premiership. Celtic lost 2-0 to Dundee less than 24 later, meaning the undefeated Jam Tarts have a five-point advantage over the champions ahead of the duo’s seismic clash at Tynecastle this coming Sunday.

When the ‘Lizard’ invested just shy of £10 million into Hearts over the summer, he spoke of “disrupting” the Scottish football landscape. He claimed the Gorgie boys could split the Old Firm this season and would be “disappointed” if the league trophy wasn’t residing at Tynecastle within the next decade.

Many laughed. Not since 1985 has a team outside Glasgow won the Scottish top flight. A closed shop, a duopoly far too strong to be ousted. That was the message from Bloom’s cynics.

They may well have the last laugh. A lot of football is still to be played. But those who know Bloom well are reluctant to bet against one of the shrewdest minds in Britain. Right now, he has ruffled feathers north of the border.

Hearts title odds in comparison to Celtic and Rangers

Celtic still remain the 2/7 odds-on favourites to win the league, but Hearts are now as short as 5/2. The oddsmen see Derek McInnes’ men as veritable challengers. Managerless Rangers, on the other hand, are rated as 16/1 shots.

What a time to be a Hearts supporter. Nearly 4000 of them travelled to Ayrshire to pack out the away end at Rugby Park. They were treated to a Saturday night masterclass in disciplined defending, tenacious midfield play, surging wingers and deadly strikers. The victory emphasised everything that is good about Hearts.

There is much to like about this Hearts team under McInnes, who took over at the start of June. They are well-drilled, with all the pieces of the jigsaw in the correct places. They play a 4-4-2 system with wingers that are direct and cut inside, with summer signing Alexandros Kyziridis excelling on the left. Up top, captain Lawrence Shankland has an able foil in another recruit in Claudio Braga, who is the Premiership’s top goalscorer with five strikes.

Hearts have scored 19 goals already this term - the most in the league and eight more than Celtic. And plenty have come from free-kicks and corners, with centre-halves Craig Halkett and Stuart Findlay chipping in. The appointment of a bespoke set-piece coach in Ross Grant has paid immediate dividends. They have the second-best defensive record in the division with six concessions, and current goalkeeper Alexander Schwolow has yet to concede in his four games since signing. They have won seven of their eight matches, the only blip a 3-3 draw with Motherwell.

These are the statistics of champions.

Of course, it is way, way - waaaayyy - too early to be crowning Hearts. McInnes and his players will tell you that, the fans will tell you that, the media will tell you that. Bloom? Who knows, for his quiet confidence at the start of the season now has some foundation.

Hearts have been here before. Under George Burley in 2005 and Craig Levein in 2018, they had five-point leads at the top of the Premiership in the infancy of the season. On each occasion they were usurped by Celtic. And 12 months ago, Aberdeen had 22 points after eight games following their own incredible start under Jimmy Thelin. Come May the Dons finished ... fifth.

This season is different, though. Hearts appear on more solid ground than Aberdeen, whose form fell off a cliff after November. The Tynecastle squad is deeper, the manager more experienced and the infrastructure far more secure. Already Hearts have a winter recruit in the bag in Kazakh forward Islam Chesnokov. Record signing Ageu is close to a return from injury. And with Bloom’s data-driven Jamestown Analytics in their camp, more arrivals are likely. Bloom may even put up more cash if the scent of blood becomes too strong to ignore.

And, crucially, there are wounded rivals around Hearts, unlike for Aberdeen last term who merely kept pace with a rampant Celtic. That’s the key factor. Rangers are a mess right now, with one league win all season and still searching for a new manager to replace Russell Martin. They are currently 13 points behind Hearts and will need a swift turnaround under whoever comes in to reel in the Jambos. You would not normally write Rangers off but in their current guise, it is a different story for many. It is why splitting the Old Firm is becoming a more viable prospect than winning the league.

Celtic are only five points adrift but given their own stuttering form and disharmony between fans and board, borne out an underwhelming summer transfer window, they are far from their best too. Manager Brendan Rodgers is now under fire after their 2-0 defeat at Dens Park. Amid supporters protests against the Parkhead hierarchy and a squad that is malnourished in important areas, this is the toughest its been for the champions since 2021, when Rangers won the Premiership.

How to topple Celtic and Rangers

To be seriously competitive as an outsider in the Scottish title race, you need at least one of the Old Firm to be in a state of crisis. Then you need to take advantage. Right now, Hearts are doing that. Unlike Celtic and Rangers, they do not have midweek European football or the Premier Sports Cup to think about. Up until the new year, they can focus solely on league matters.

Given the financial muscle that Celtic and Rangers have, taking care of business for the next two-and-a-half months will be crucial for Hearts. If the Old Firm feel under threat, the wallet will be opened - by Celtic in particular. They are able to blow Hearts out of the water when it comes to transfer fees and wages. Although as Bloom has often pointed out, it’s not always about what you have, but how you use it.

And then there are other matters: the mental test of being a title challenger. How opponents set up against you, treating Hearts like the Old Firm. The media hype, the intense scrutiny from not just Scotland but all over the world. But those are for another day. We are not there yet.

Nevertheless, there is a mix of excitement and envy within Scottish football right now. Having a fresh dog in the fight should be welcomed. McInnes claimed earlier this month, though, that there are people waiting for his team to fall. Hibs fans will no doubt be among those. After Kilmarnock, the manager urged his players to become “addicted to winning”.

A victory in Hearts’ next match would be of the statement variety. Having already slayed Rangers at Ibrox and got the better of Hibs in the first Edinburgh derby of the season, beating Celtic at Tynecastle this weekend would move Hearts eight points clear at the top. It would be the surest sign yet that they are a serious force to be reckoned with.