For 250 days, Hearts threatened to destroy the natural order of Scottish football.
Derek McInnes’ side are 90 minutes away from becoming the first non-Old Firm team to win the title since Sir Alex Ferguson’s Aberdeen in 1985, after their first league summit in almost eight months.
In the end, they fell woefully short.
Martin O’Neill had just woken up the hare and chased the tortoise across the goal line as Celtic were crowned champions for the 14th time in the past 15 years.
But some might argue that the natural order has already been shaken, since the turtle will be operating without the burden of its shell in its next mission.
After a season full of twists and turns, is Scottish football ushering in a new era?
A terrifying third force?
Hertz investor Tony Bloom suggested Jambos break up the old company and win the title within 10 years.
When Hearts minority shareholder Tony Bloom declared his ambition to break up the old company on the eve of the 2025/26 Scottish Premiership season, his optimism was mistaken for delusion.
His goal was to win the title within 10 years, but he was laughed at because he was 90 minutes away from winning the title, nine years earlier than planned.
The conventional wisdom is that the Old Firm will probably never be this weak again and that Hearts will never have a better chance of winning the league.
The Rangers got off to the worst start in league history under manager Russell Martin, but then settled on third choice Danny Rohr to replace him. At Celtic, Brendan Rodgers’ shock resignation prompted an explosive statement of condemnation from Dermot Desmond, as a fan revolt put football front and center for much of the campaign. Wilfried Nancy spent 33 difficult days sandwiched between two miraculous interim breaks in O’Neill’s dugout.
Wilfried Nancy lasted just 33 days at Celtic
All of the above is true, but that doesn’t diminish the accomplishments of this Hearts team.
Champions or not, the natural order of things was disrupted when McInnes’ side finished just third ahead of Rangers with four games remaining.
And this is just the beginning.
Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither were Brighton & Hove Albion or Union Saint Giroise.
Tynecastle bosses expect to go even stronger next season as the Jamestown analytics genius scours the globe in search of the next Claudio Braga, Moises Caicedo or Alexis Mac Allister.
Claudio Braga, Alexandros Kyziridis, Pierre Landry Cavore, and Rodgers Mato were all signed thanks to Jamestown Analytics
Head coach McInnes, along with Broome, Jamestown and reliable captain Lawrence Shankland, formed the four pillars responsible for much of this season’s success. But beneath that is a foundation as solid as the rock of an ancient castle, built by the club’s majority shareholders, the fans.
Our passionate supporters have pledged more than £20 million through the Foundation of Hearts since 2010, and they’re still giving.
nightmare american dream
Chairman Andrew Cavenagh (right) backed head coach Danny Rolle (left) to lead the team next season despite finishing third.
The Rangers have spent much of the past 15 years in the shadow of their rivals, but when an American consortium led by Andrew Kavena and the San Francisco 49ers’ investment arm took control of the club last summer, they were promised a return to their place.
Having signed 18 players, brought in two head coaches and brought in £40m, the club are in a weaker position than they were in third place this time last year.
Manager Russell Martin oversaw the club’s worst start to the league in 47 years before CEO Patrick Stewart and sporting director Kevin Thelwell paid the ultimate price with a disastrous summer transfer window.
Kevin Thelwell, Russell Martin and Patrick Stewart were released by Rangers last year
Rohr took over the team 13 points off the top of the table and initially threatened to win the title, but a late-season collapse saw the team lose four of their last five games and sit in third place, 10 points behind the champions.
For years, it was thought that new investment was the solution to all of the Rangers’ problems, but the millions of dollars left behind by Kavena and others and the seemingly shotgun contract policy prove that strategy is more important than resources.
With no intention to appoint a sporting director and another head coach subject to opposition from supporters, the Ibrox club finds itself in familiar territory both on and off the field.
Regardless of foreign fortunes, the eternal “Rangers Cycle” continues.
Appoint a new manager midway through the season Benefit from a ‘new manager bounce’ Dump it when pressure is on to threaten a title charge Start rebuilding your team Sack a manager after a poor start to the season
The club hierarchy must find a way to break the cycle and foster a winning mentality. Otherwise, those who have served as bridesmaids for many years in recent history may become just guests of the night.
A challenge from the back bench?
Falkirk manager John McGlynn (left) and Motherwell’s Jens Berthel-Askou have impressed all season.
Hearts weren’t the only surprise package this season.
Motherwell and Falkirk captured the imagination of supporters across the country with their refreshing and brave brand of football.
At one time seen as a fourth force in the title race, Jens Berthel Askou’s Motherwell dominated the top three teams at home and away.
Players who were once considered decidedly average, such as Paul McGinn, Stephen O’Donnell and Stephen Welsh, are now among the best in the league.
Captain McGinn was one of five Well players named in the PFA Scotland Team of the Year, along with Callum Ward, Elliott Watt, Elijah Just and league leading scorer Tawanda Maswanhuis.
Motherwell’s Tawanda Maswanhise is Scottish Premiership’s top scorer
Regardless of whether they can capture the mastermind coach this summer, the players considered to be the “kingmakers” in this title race have a blueprint for playing more than just pawns next season.
John McGlynn’s Falkirk used a squad made up of 14 players from the invincible side that won League One two seasons ago to achieve an unlikely top-six finish following their second successive promotion.
Their attack was spearheaded by Heriot-Watt University signing Bernie Stewart, the latest in a long list of players who have developed far beyond McGlynn’s potential.
Falkirk’s Bernie Stewart goes from university football to Scotland’s top player
With top-level experience under his belt, Bairns will enter next season as an adult in the Premiership.
Meanwhile, sleeping giants Aberdeen are showing positive signs under new manager Stephen Robinson, and David Gray’s Hibernian will be keen to challenge across Europe once again.
In many ways, the Scottish football landscape is actually a mirror image of English politics. Two clubs have dominated the country for decades, but now clubs from the fringes are trying to seize power as the big two falter.
I don’t envy the pollsters tasked with predicting how next season will go.
