I Agree With Derek McInnes

Tony Bloom made news in early August when he stated the following:

We’ve got a very good chance of at least being second this season.

With Hearts leading the table into the second international break and seven games into the league campaign, Mr. Bloom does not seem as grandiose as many deemed at the time.

I argued on Twitter that Bloom’s comments were likely part of him trying to shift the “Overton Window” on expectations at the club for what is possible, or even expected. Longer-term subscribers will know that I started making the case for a long-term, and possibly even in 2025-2026, threat to Celtic in February.

Derek McInnes has been trying to play down these expectations, recently saying it would be “stupid” to suggest Hearts are title contenders at this point in the season.

I agree! Seven games is far too small of a sample size from which to extrapolate a full season. But we can examine what has taken place in order to try and better measure performance levels versus results.

At the same time, my analysis from February examined how USG had threatened a well run and thriving Club Brugge, not the dysfunctional version of Celtic that culminated in the systemic failures of the last six weeks.

So where do things stand? Should we all carry a healthy sense of dread about the remainder of the season? Are Hearts actually a title threat despite McInnes’ protestations?