Hearts are currently five points ahead of current Champions Celtic at the top of the Scottish Premiership. The two sides meet at Tynecastle on Sunday afternoon and Derek McInnes, the Hearts manager will be looking at taking the three points to extend their lead to eight points and with it lay down a massive challenge to Brendan Rodgers and his Celtic side – catch us if you can!
Celtic though have been here before many times and that’s why Online Bookmakers not on GamStop still have Rodgers’ men down as strong favourites not only to win on Sunday but also to go onto with a 14th title in 15 seasons and a record breaking 56 title overall in Celtic’s unbroken history.
The history books tells us the extent of the challenge facing Hearts if they are to become the first Scottish side outside of Glasgow to finish a campaign as Champions. The last manager to do it was Alex Ferguson back in 1985. Let’s have a look at the non-Old Firm title winners since 1945…
Since the end of World War Two the list of title winners outside of Glasgow in Scottish football is a rather short one. Hibs got off to a great start winning the league in 1948 under the guidance of manager Willie McCartney who was replaced by Hugh Shaw in April of that year. That was the great Hibs team featuring their legendary Famous Five forward line.
Shaw delivered a title of his own for the Easter Road club in 1951, the second time in four years that Hibernian were Scottish Champions but they’ve not won it since.
It was their Edinburgh rivals Hearts who were the next team outside of the Old Firm to win the Scottish League in season 1957/58 under Tommy Walker, who also won it again the season after next as Hearts became the first Champions of Scotland in the 1960s. That too would be the last time Hearts won the league, although they came very close in 1986 but conceding two late Albert Kidd goals to Dundee while Celtic won at St Mirren mean that it would be a first (and only) title win for Davie Hay as Celtic manager.
In season 1957/58 Hearts were the dominant side in Scottish football with players like Bauld, Wardhaugh and Crawford all outstanding and in 1959/60 season Hearts were well deserving of their title, losing just two matches in that campaign.
Bob Shankly was the next manager outside of the Old Firm to with the Scottish League when he led Dundee to the title in season 1961/62. This remains Dundee’s only top-flight title in the Dens Park club’s history. Remarkably that fine Dundee side qualified for the 1962–63 European Cup semi-final!
Then came the era of the New Firm as Aberdeen under Alex Ferguson and Jim McLean’s Dundee United joined Celtic in a three way fight for the title in the first seven titles handed out in the 1980s, with Aberdeen winning the league in 1980, 1984 and 1984, Celtic in 1981, 1982 and 1986 (as mentioned above) while Dundee United were Scottish Champions in 1983, the season Alex Ferguson’s Aberdeen defeated Real Madrid in the Cup Winners Cup Final.
Ferguson’s third title win for Aberdeen in 1985 was the last time a team outside of Celtic and either version of Rangers (a phoenix club was formed in 2012 after Rangers FC was liquidated) won the league.
So with both Glasgow clubs currently not without their own problems, Derek McInnes is never going to have a better chance to write his name into the history books.
The heartache among the Hearts fans inflicted by Albert Kidd back in 1986 remains decades later. Can they finally put that to bed this season or will Brendan Rodgers continue his own personal record of winning every Scottish title he’s participated since arriving at the club in 2016 and then again in 2023?
The only other manager with a valid claim to be included in this list is the former theRangers manager Steven Gerrard who won the Scottish Premiership in the COVID season 2020/21, delivering a first ever title for the new Rangers club – the one that replaced Rangers FC that was liquidated in 2012 after operating an unlawful tax scheme and owing around £80m to HMRC and other creditors.
As an aside, Charles Green, theRangers founding father claimed that he had bought the titles won by the previous Ibrox club, a rather remarkable concept that one.
So back to Hearts – and they certainly will have a chance this season – especially if they can beat Celtic on Sunday. Even a draw will see them maintain a four points advantage and await further slip-ups from Celtic. It’s certainly going to be an interesting game, maybe not a winner takes all at this early stage of the season, but a game that will be talked about as significant come the end of the season when either Brendan Rodgers or Derek McInnes gets to lift the trophy.
You’ve missed Kilmarnock winning in 1965 – ironically on goal average (just) ahead of Hearts.
Had goal difference applied Hearts would have been champions!
Similar to 20 years later, Hearts only needed to win, draw or not lose worse than 1-0 at Tynecastle – they duly did 2-0, to Kilmarnock!!
Celtic beat Dunfermiline on the same day to win the Scottish Cup,