Forty years ago, Hearts arrived at the final day of the Scottish season unbeaten in 27 league games, two points clear, needing only a draw at Dundee. They didn't get it. Celtic fan Albert Kidd scored twice in the dying minutes at Dens Park. Celtic beat St Mirren 5-0 elsewhere. Title gone, on goal difference.
That's the ghost that follows every Hearts fan into this week.
Right now, though, Hearts are the ones doing the haunting. Derek McInnes's side sit three points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership with three games left — away at Motherwell on Saturday, home to Falkirk on May 13, then a likely title showdown at Celtic Park on the final day. The Edinburgh club haven't won the Scottish championship since 1960. A 66-year wait could end in nine days.
What changed — and how fast
Last season, Hearts finished seventh, 40 points behind Celtic. Seventh. This turnaround didn't happen through patience and steady recruitment. It happened because Brighton owner Tony Bloom invested £9.86 million in 2025 and pointed his data company, Jamestown Analytics, at the Scottish game. "I firmly believe in the club's ability to disrupt the pattern of domination of Scottish football," Bloom said at the time. Nobody outside Edinburgh took it that seriously. They should have.
The win that effectively ended Rangers' title hopes came on Monday — Hearts came from behind to beat them 2-1. That result, more than any other, shifted the picture. Rangers have finished runners-up to Celtic six times since 2018-19. They're not finishing second this time either.
Celtic's Martin O'Neill acknowledged what's happening without quite enjoying it: "If you're looking at it from a neutral viewpoint — there's been excitement this season because Hearts have come up, thrown down the gauntlet to the two big teams." That's about as much credit as you'll get from Parkhead.
The path to the title
The scenario Hearts want: win at Motherwell, beat Falkirk, and hope Celtic drop points — either at home to Rangers this weekend or at Motherwell in midweek. If that happens, Hearts go to Celtic Park next Saturday already crowned. Walking into their rivals' ground as champions would be something.
If it doesn't fall that neatly, the title gets decided on the final day at Parkhead. Which is exactly the kind of fixture that separates clubs with genuine title credentials from those just borrowing a good season.
Celtic and Rangers have 55 Scottish titles each. Hearts, Hibernian and Aberdeen are joint third — with four apiece. The Glasgow duopoly has been so complete that when Rangers went into liquidation in 2012 and dropped to the bottom division, it didn't open the league up — it just handed Celtic five consecutive titles by margins of 16, 29, 17, 15 and 30 points. Scottish football outside Glasgow has been an afterthought for most of four decades.
A Hearts title doesn't just end a 66-year wait. It fundamentally changes what Scottish football betting markets have to look like next season. A three-team race is a different product entirely — and the bookmakers know it.
No Hearts fan is tying ribbons to anything yet. 1986 made sure of that.
