BROKEN HEARTS? CELTIC SMASH RANGERS, AMID RUMORS OF INTERNAL TYNECASTLE STRIFE
- BY LIAM CARRIGAN
- 13 hours ago
- 4 min read
Motherwell won’t win the league this year. But by first beating Rangers, and then taking a point off Hearts (Celtic also face a difficult trip to Lanarkshire on Wednesday) The Steelmen may well end up deciding who does emerge from this chaotic season with the Scottish Premiership Title in their grasp.
However, it seems Motherwell aren’t the only ones who put a dent in Hearts’ title aspirations this past weekend. According to various sources this morning, it seems while we were all marveling at Daizen Maeda’s moment of genius yesterday, all was not well over in Edinburgh.
Hearts Celtic Title Battle Takes Another Twist as Rumors Persist of Backroom Falling Out
Few would argue that by inserting himself into Scottish football via his investment in Hearts last summer, Tony Bloom has made The Scottish Premiership a whole lot more interesting than usual.
He has also ensured that the “Scottish football needs a strong Rangers” myth which has been widely permeating since the original Rangers (requiescat in pace) were sent to Hades in 2012, has been well and truly torpedoed for good.
It seems almost certain now, barring a Celtic loss and a Hearts win on Wednesday, that the league title will be won by whomever emerges better off from next weekend’s final battle at Celtic Park.
However, if rumors circulating this morning are to be believed, all is not well over in Gorgie.
One person who, apparently, hasn’t taken kindly to Tony Bloom’s influence is Hearts manager Derek McInnes.
Dare I say that having worked with top clubs in England and continental Europe prior to his involvement with the Edinburgh side, Tony Bloom has probably become accustomed to working with coaches of a significantly higher calibre than someone like McInnes.
Apparently the former Rangers player hasn’t been very responsive to “advice” offered by Bloom, especially in regards to team selection.
In short, Bloom is not impressed that McInnes has overlooked and continues to overlook some of the players his Jamestown Analytics database has brought to Hearts since last summer.
McInnes could get away with this defiance while the team were still winning. However, whilst they remain top of the league, and still have a chance to wrap up the title before coming to Celtic Park if we slip up, it cannot be denied that Hearts have looked vulnerable in recent months.
Even the games that they have won have been by slim margins. In fact, last week’s victory over Rangers was perhaps the first time in months that I recall seeing Hearts actually play to their best, and even then, it was only in the second half. But for their own incompetence, Rangers could easily have been 3 or 4 up by half-time last Monday night.
Thankfully they failed. And so, much liked their previous club in 2012, the chances of this new Rangers becoming Champions this season have also crossed over into the Netherrealm, never to return.
Perhaps this is why their fans opted to wear black yesterday, in mourning the loss of yet another season where we were all told, time and time again that “The Rangers are coming”.
Anyway, back on topic. If indeed these rumors are true and Tony Bloom doesn’t rate Derek McInnes, then we can probably expect the former Ibrox squad player to receive his proverbial jotters should Hearts fail to make it over the finish line in this title race.
Nevertheless, in a season when Celtic seem to have self-sabotaged ourselves at every opportunity, things finally seemed to come together yesterday. It wasn’t quite the traditional “Sevco skelping session” we’ve come to expect in recent years, but it was a convincing, unequivocal win over a Rangers side that we hadn’t beaten in a league match for over 18 months.
I think when the Union Bears got their cratons out and scrawled “WATP” all over the Celtic Park seating back in January “We Are Third Place” wasn’t quite what they intended to say!
Hearts remain a danger, I would go so far as to say that they remain favorites for the title, though that will change if, after Wednesday’s fixtures, Celtic find themselves in a position where a win in the final fixture guarantees the title.
Until then, we can take nothing for granted. So, I for one hope that these rumors of unrest at Tynecastle prove to be accurate. Right now, even with the way the recent rejuvenation of Celtic both on the park and in the terraces, I’ll still take any advantage, no matter how marginal, that is offered to us.
2 wins and we win the league. I said after our embarrassing capitulation to the occupants of the Inland Revenue Arena back in January, in what was ultimately Wlfried Nancy’s final match as Celtic boss, that Celtic would still win the league.
I was, rightly at the time, ridiculed for saying so. I also heard that several Rangers fans gleefully shared the clip of me saying this on ACSOM’s post-match bulletin.
Can’t say I blame them to be honest. Being truthful, I said that more in hope than in expectation at the time.
And yet here we are, 5 months later, and just 6 points away from pulling off one of the hardest earned triumphs in Celtic's modern history.
And perhaps that is why we are still in with a chance of this title, and Rangers are not.
Celtic fans hope, we believe, we have faith, but we do not expect, nor do we consider ourselves entitled to win anything.
Hearts deserve every ounce of the respect and plaudits that have come their way this season for coming this close to claiming the title.
That being said, I hope we will take care of Motherwell on Wednesday, before breaking Hearts once and for all next weekend.
Keep the faith, as they say.
