Tony Bloom has reiterated that he would be "really disappointed" if Hearts fail to win the Scottish Premiership within a decade. The Brighton chairman completed a near £10m investment in the Tynecastle Park club last summer and instantly vowed to "disrupt the pattern of domination of Scottish football". At their first attempt, Hearts - who are the only team in Scotland with access to Bloom's Jamestown Analytics network - missed out on a first top-flight title since 1960 on the final day of the season.
That was despite topping the table since September, as Celtic came from 1-0 down to win and leapfrog Hearts in the final minutes of a dramatic campaign. On Sunday, the two teams meet again at Celtic Park for the first time since that unforgettable title decider, live on Sky Sports. "The way it [last season] ended, in difficult circumstances from a Hearts point of view, is exceptionally disappointing for the club and for me as well," Bloom told Sky Sports.
"At the end of the day, we've got to accept what's happened, if not be happy about how things ended." When asked if he retains his view that Hearts will become the first non-Old Firm side to win the top-flight title since 1985, he added: "Absolutely. I'd be really disappointed if Hearts have not won the Scottish Premiership within the 10 years." Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player In the weeks and months that followed that defeat to Celtic, Hearts lost head coach Derek McInnes, captain Lawrence Shankland and midfielder Cammy Devlin to Rangers, while other key players like Alexandros Kyziridis and Alexander Schwolow also moved on. However, using Bloom's Jamestown Analytics firm, Wouter Vrancken was appointed, and a number of new faces arrived, including the likes of Calvin Miller, Malachi Fagan-Walcott and Beau Reus.
A tough start to the season saw the club lose their Champions League and Europa League qualifiers, plus their Premiership opener to Aberdeen. However, Hearts are now in the Conference League, the League Cup semi-finals and third in the top flight heading into Sunday's match, three points adrift of Rangers and two further back from Celtic. Bloom said: "We move on to this season.
We've started reasonably well, got a new head coach, so again we've got to be hopeful and optimistic for the season to come. "It was really difficult with the head coach coming in literally just before the start of pre-season, but as a football club you have to recover, and you have to recover quickly. "We've brought in a lot of new players, and there's a lot to play for in the season for Hearts, so I think there's a lot for the Hearts fans to look forward to this season." Over a year ago, when Bloom told Sky Sports about his plans to topple the Old Firm, many did not take notice.
As the months went on and Hearts' title bid grew in momentum, it was not just Scottish football that stopped to take notice. Until the 87th minute of that final game of the season, Hearts were set to become champions. In the end, they fell just short.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
