Hearts form is decent but decline in standards in Scottish game is worrying | OneFootball

The form of Hearts might be good for Scottish football, but it also shows how far the standard has fallen. Just look at our European results on Thursday night with Celtic, Aberdeen and theRangers all losing…

Hearts have been the surprise package of the season thus far. Top of the league heading into the Christmas period, albeit having played two games more than second place Celtic, but they are there all the same and deserve great credit. Wilfried Nancy’s side will get the chance on Wednesday night at Tannadice against Dundee United to narrow the gap back to three points.

I could use the word success in terms of Hearts early season heroics, but they haven’t won anything yet, and are very much in the middle of a good run of form. Nothing more, titles aren’t handed out in December.

Anyone outside of Celtic will tell you that the Jambos hitting the heights of first place and slowly but surely laying down a title challenge is good for the Scottish game, but is it really?

Yes, I guess you can say it’s good for the Scottish game as it’s been nothing more than a one horse race most seasons for quite some time now. The Scottish mainstream media and our friends from Govan will argue it’s a two horse race, but with the Ibrox men having won the same amount of honours as St Johnstone this past decade, that claim can quickly be refuted.

But on the other hand it shows how far the standard has dropped in our game, as an average Hearts side, managed by a half decent manager are leading the pack heading into the new year.

Even theRangers despite spending millions can’t lay a glove on the Gorgie side, and are currently battling for third place. That isn’t the sign of a good league, it’s a sign of bad recruitment and management.

The same can be said of Celtic, who have already lost twice to the Jambos and suffered a disappointing defeat at Dundee, despite boasting a multi million pound squad.

Even with our injury woes, we still have the squad depth to deal with a Jambos challenge, it isn’t an excuse and shows how badly we’ve been mismanaged on and off the park.

Celtic should be leading the way without any difficulty, and theRangers shouldn’t be too far behind them. The fact that they aren’t isn’t down to the quality of our game, it’s to do with the fact that our game has regressed. Hearts will probably not have many better chances than this season to win the league or at least split the two Glasgow giants.

Hearts are better than last season, that cannot be argued. They won a year ago this weekend to move themselves off BOTTOM spot in the Scottish Premiership, this morning they are six points clear of Celtic,  having played two games more. Derek McInnes has improved Hearts while both Celtic and theRangers are weaker this season, for whatever the reasons.

Wilfried Nancy, Manager of Celtic, looks on during a Celtic FC Training Session at Lennoxtown Training Centre on December 10, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Some will scoff and call it sour grapes, but it’s the honest truth. Just look at the results in Europe in midweek as all Scottish teams lost. Hearts got knocked out of the Premier Sports Cup and were not involved in European football this season so since August they have just had league matches to focus on. Fair play to them for getting their noses in front. It’s Wilfried Nancy’s task to get in front and stay there.

Just an Ordinary Bhoy

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