Hearts on course to split Glasgow giants Celtic and the Rangers

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The Celtic Star

·29 settembre 2025

Hearts on course to split Glasgow giants Celtic and the Rangers

I hold my hands up and admit I was wrong, so my apologies to the maroon side of Edinburgh who went to Ibrox recently and achieved something that I thought was beyond them and actually won a game against theRangers…

Heart’s Lawrence Shankland celebrates his second goal with his teammates after the Scottish Premiership match between theRangers and Hearts at Ibrox on September 13, 2025. (Photo by Steve Welsh/Getty Images)

It’s been a long wait for the Hearts supporters so hopefully they enjoyed it as much a sizeable win on a live casino table in the UK. I didn’t think it was possible, so fair play to Derek McInnes and his players for a deserved and highly significant victory.

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Their home win over Falkirk on Saturday coupled with Celtic being held to a goalless draw against Hibs at Celtic Park means that Hearts are now two points clear at the of the Scottish Premiership going into October.

After a week of internal turmoil, it turned out to be a good weekend for the Celtic supporters. First we got to witness the now famous chorus of boos descend across Ibrox after their failure to win any of their first five league fixtures leaving them in a lowly tenth place. When the Hearts fans started chanting ‘You’re getting sacked in the morning’ to the hapless Russell Martin, theRangers supporters still in the ground actually joined in!

theRangers manager Russell Martin during the Scottish Premiership match between theRangers and Hearts at Ibrox on September 13, 2025. (Photo by Steve Welsh/Getty Images)

With that victory, Hearts leapfrogged Celtic into first place in the Scottish Premiership, well for 24 hours at least. But although short-lived it was nevertheless a great achievement for Derek McInnes who was named as the Scottish Premiership Manager of the Month for August. Then as mentioned above Hearts returned to the top of the table on Saturday and look increasingly like being Celtic’s main challengers this season for the Scottish Premiership title.

Hearts manager Derek McInnes celebrates after the Scottish Premiership match between theRangers and Hearts at Ibrox on September 13, 2025. (Photo by Steve Welsh/Getty Images)

McInnes, who once turned down theRangers job, has had a brilliant start as Hearts while for Russell Martin it’s been one crisis after another and he has clearly lost the backing of theRangers support.

When the fourth official held up the board showing stoppage time at Rugby Park during Celtic’s visit, McInnes would have been hoping it would have been his old club Kilmarnock that would go on and grab a late winner with the score level at one each. Even that result would have kept Hearts top, two points ahead of Celtic. But the drama was at the other end of Rugby Park when Celtic were awarded a penalty in the 96th minute and debut Bhoy Kelechi Iheanacho slotted it into the Killie net to take Celtic back to the top of the table.

Kelechi Iheanacho celebrates scoring the winner for Celtic at Rugby Park, Kilmarnock v Celtic, 14 September 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

Looking to the longer term and despite the Jambos hitting the dizzy heights at the top of the Premiership at the weekend, I always expect theRangers to be Celtic’s main challenger this season. Aberdeen started brilliantly last season and that lasted until Celtic hit them for six in early November in the Premier Sports Cup semi-final. Jimmy Thelin’s Dons struggled badly after their early season bubble was burst by Celtic at Hampden – but they’d go on to get their revenge on Celtic for that in the Scottish Cup Final six months later.

Aberdeen’s biggest problem now seems to be to avoid relegation and Jimmy Thelin’s job is seriously at risk after losing to Motherwell at the weekend.

Photo: Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

So I reckon that theRangers despite their awful start are still the team who will ultimately pose Celtic the biggest threat this season although Hearts are looking like proving me wrong.

That’s why the seven points advantage Celtic has over them at this stage of the season is most welcome indeed. In the summer the new owners at the latest Ibrox club invested heavily in their squad and once they start winning games again (they won 2-1 at Livingston yesterday), perhaps after a new boss is brought in, they will climb the table and surely will be challenging Hearts for that second place finish.

Kelechi Iheanacho celebrates scoring the winner for Celtic at Rugby Park, Kilmarnock v Celtic, 14 September 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

Hearts target at the start of the season was to split the big Glasgow sides and they are well on course to do just that. That was a bold ambition, but certainly a more achievable one now rather in the summer before a ball was kicked with theRangers investing so heavily in their squad. Indeed optimistic Hearts fans may actually be dreaming about getting revenge on Celtic for 1986 when the Hoops snatched the title for them in the closing minutes of the season, aided and abetted by Dundee and Celtic legend Albert Kidd.

Third place is still perhaps the most realistic outcome for Hearts but don’t forget, they currently have a nine points lead over theRangers and if they can maintain their consistency in the way Aberdeen could not at this stage last season, then they may well achieve their target and split the two Glasgow giants.

Brendan Rodgers at Rugby Park, Kilmarnock v Celtic, 14 September 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

Whilst it’s good for our game to see another club pose a challenge, like Aberdeen last year, Hearts will I believe at some stage falter. I still reckon that it’s Brendan Rodgers and his side who will be celebrating come next May, as is usually the case.

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