Could Hearts pose more of a threat to Celtic this season than the Ibrox side? We’re going to find out on Sunday

Tony Bloom gave an interview to Sky Sports yesterday that will have gone down very well in the Gorgie Road end.

And it should have Celtic supporters sitting up and paying attention.

Because Hearts come to Celtic Park on Sunday, and they are not coming for a day out.

Hearts have gone from a shaky start to third in the table, and they know exactly what Sunday means

Cast your mind back to the start of the season.

Hearts had lost their manager, their captain and a key midfielder in one go.

Derek McInnes, Lawrence Shankland and Cammy Devlin all left for the Ibrox side, and plenty of folk wrote them off before a ball was kicked.

Fair enough, there was a shaky start.

But they have gradually clawed their way up the table, and they now sit comfortably in third.

They are 3 points behind the Ibrox side, and 5 points behind us.

Win at Celtic Park on Sunday and they will be just 2 points behind us by the evening.

Think about that for a second.

Here is what Bloom told Sky Sports, as reported by the BBC:

I’d be really disappointed if Hearts have not won the Scottish Premiership within the 10 years.

Ten years.

That is the target he set when he bought his 29% stake back in June 2025, and he was perfectly happy to repeat it yesterday.

This is a man who talked about disrupting the pattern of domination which has been in place for far too long.

You know who he means by that, don’t you?

That would be us.

Hearts were top for 250 days last season and they have not forgotten how it ended

Let’s not kid ourselves about this lot.

They led the league for 250 days last season.

Two hundred and fifty days.

And then they came to Celtic Park on the final day and lost the title right in front of us.

Bloom called the way it ended ‘exceptionally disappointing’.

I would imagine the players feel the same way, and I would imagine the new head coach has made sure nobody has forgotten it.

Wouter Vrancken has Hearts unbeaten at home in the league for over a year.

He has had to rebuild on the fly, and he has done it better than most of us expected.

As for Bloom’s comments in the media yesterday, that should be all the incentive they need to put it up to us on Sunday.

Apparently not playing in Europe gives you an advantage, because the SMSM say so

Now, there is another wee wrinkle to all of this.

Like ourselves, Hearts have European group stage football to look forward to.

They kick off their Conference League campaign on Thursday against Nordsjaelland.

Which is funny, because according to the SMSM, not playing in Europe is a massive advantage in the Premiership.

You get to play on a Saturday instead of a Sunday, you see.

Who knew?

Forget the players being fresher, forget the squad being able to concentrate on one competition.

It’s the Saturday kick-off that makes all the difference.

And if you believe that, I have a bridge to sell you.

Mind you, it tells you everything about the Scottish media that this is being offered up as a serious argument.

I’ll say this for Hearts, though.

They will not be using it as an excuse.

If we play like we did against Motherwell, we should win this one

I keep coming back to the Motherwell game.

Because if we turn up like that, with that intensity and that desire, then we should win on Sunday.

Hearts are a good side, and I will happily give them that.

But they are not better than us.

We beat them on the final day last season with a title on the line, and that was with them leading the race for most of the year.

But that’s the big ‘if’, isn’t it?

Because what happens if we’re coming off the back of a heavy defeat in Lisbon?

Think about it.

That is the nightmare scenario.

A tired squad with their heads down, a manager picking a team on the back of a hammering, and a Hearts side smelling blood at Celtic Park.

It might not be as easy as we think.

And that is the problem with our board’s approach to the squad every single summer.

They never plan for the bad week.

They plan for the balance sheet.

We are going to find out just how serious Hearts are as title contenders

Either way, we will get to see exactly what Hearts are made of this season.

Are they a team that can go toe to toe with the champions in a packed Celtic Park?

Or are they just another side that has had a decent run in the table and will fade once the real pressure starts?

Bloom clearly believes the first one.

Sunday will tell us if he’s right.

And if the Ibrox side are looking over their shoulder at Hearts as well as us, I’m not going to complain.

So bring it on.

Let’s see what you’ve got, Hearts.

BRING. IT. ON.

Keep your eyes on the scoreboard…

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