Predicting what will happen in the final seven days of this season never mind next term is a tricky business despite the three point lead that table toppers Hearts hold over Celtic entering the last three games of the William Hill Premiership.
The Tynecastle club are certainly within touching distance of their first Scottish title in 66 years following their rousing 2-1 triumph over Rangers in Gorgie on Monday evening.
If they beat Motherwell at a packed Fir Park tonight and Rangers defeat Celtic at Parkhead tomorrow afternoon then their nearest challengers will be unable to overtake them on points, only goal difference.
A draw to Falkirk in the capital in midweek would be enough for them to clinch the top flight crown.
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But that is, despite the momentum which Derek McInnes’s men have behind them going into their antepenultimate fixture against Jens Berthel Askou’s charges, an awfully big if.
Their rivals, the best footballing side in the country by a considerable distance during the past eight months, have lost just once at home in the league since October. Celtic, Hibernian, Hearts and Rangers have all failed to pick up three points in North Lanarkshire this term.
Will the hosts, who played Rangers off the park at times in their 3-2 triumph at Ibrox last month and who need to prevail to boost their chances of finishing fourth and booking a place in the Conference League qualifying rounds, slip up? Hearts will have to produce their A game to get the result they so desperately want and need.
McInnes stated in the aftermath of his team’s triumph over Danny Rohl’s side earlier this week that he expects the title race to go right down to the final day – when Hearts travel to Glasgow to take on Celtic at Parkhead – and he may very well be proved correct.
Anything can still happen as the most open and exciting Premiership in years reaches its thrilling conclusion. Strap yourselves in folks, it promises to be a bumpy ride.
I would, however, like to offer a bold prediction for the 2026/27 campaign all the same. Namely, that Hearts will challenge strongly for the title once again whether they get it over the line next week or not.
There has been a slightly condescending, almost derogatory narrative about Lawrence Shankland and his team mates this term which has done their heroic efforts a gross disservice.
Major shareholder Tony Bloom would be an even richer man if he had received a pound every time somebody had said, “They’re only on top of the league table because Celtic and Rangers had Wilfried Nancy and Russell Martin in charge?”
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The brief, calamitous and ultimately ill-fated reigns of those two ill-advised managerial appointments have aided their cause greatly, no doubt about it.
Martin drew five, lost one and won just one of the seven Premiership matches he presided over before he was sacked. He won just eight points out of a possible 21. Nancy, meanwhile, lost four and won two of the six league games he was in the dugout for. He shipped 12 points and only picked up six.
To suggest, though, that all would be well in the good ships Celtic and Rangers if another more proficient and experienced coach had been in charge is a deeply flawed argument.
Hearts thrashed the defending champions when Brendan Rodgers was still there and drew with the same opponents after Martin O’Neill had returned and they have thumped Rangers twice since Danny Rohl has been in situ.
To say that the two big Glasgow clubs would have avoided leaking as many points as they have in their other matches with a different manager is a big assumption. Their problems, as we have witnessed in recent weeks, run deep. Are matters going to improve significantly next season?
Celtic look set to lose key personnel this summer and probably O’Neill too. They are, then, really going to have to ace their recruitment. But that is not something they have done since the now distant days of Ange Postecoglou.
Across the River Clyde, will Rangers soon be looking to replace Rohl? There is not a lot of love for the German down Govan way in the wake of the collapses and defeats against Motherwell and Hearts. If his side lose the Old Firm derby tomorrow there will be calls for him to be axed.
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The snipers in the stands – the same people who proclaimed their boys champions in waiting after the 6-3 win over Falkirk at Westfield just weeks ago – should maybe get real. An individual who had been a manager in his own right for jus 21 months when he replaced Martin deserves some leeway.
What is the point in bringing in such a young and raw coach and jettisoning him at the first serious setback? He needs time. That said, it is hard to argue he has the presence and smarts needed for his high-profile, high-pressure role right now.
The Hearts game also showed he does not, despite £45m being lavished on new signings since 49ers Enterprises and Andrew Cavenagh came on board, have the players with the necessary ability and mentality. Will a hierarchy which has previously underestimated Scottish football get it right in the next window?
Hearts have no such concerns. If they do win the Premiership then European group stage football will, whether they are in the Champions League or the Europa League, be demanding for them. But they are a well-run, ambitious, solvent club with a strong squad, an advanced signing strategy, a brilliant manager and a passionate and united fanbase.
They may well receive tempting offers for Claudio Braga. But Josh McPake, the PFA Scotland Championship Player of the Year, will be joining and others are sure to arrive. The clubs that Bloom has been involved with, Brighton in England and Union Saint-Gilloise in Belgium, have improved with every passing year. Potentially, they could be far better.
But first they have to beat Motherwell at Fir Park for the first time since 2023 and that will not be easy.
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