Craig Halkett (right) scored Hearts’ opener – the centre-half’s third goal in three games
“With a bit of luck, they can finish second this season”.
Heart of Midlothian fans could be forgiven for deeming that an understatement, particularly after Saturday’s resounding 3-0 victory over Kilmarnock propelled Derek McInnes’ side five points clear of Celtic at the Scottish Premiership summit.
While the former Kilmarnock manager tempered expectations, insisting “no-one is getting carried away” with title aspirations, his predecessor, Steven Naismith, was willing to suggest that Hearts could indeed disrupt the Old Firm’s dominance.
Celtic are expected to narrow the gap when they face Dundee on Sunday, but Hearts’ triumph at Rugby Park guarantees they will enter their next fixture, a home game against the reigning champions, with at least a two-point lead.
Furthermore, Rangers’ draw against Dundee United leaves Hearts a significant 13 points ahead of a side widely tipped to be Celtic’s primary challengers.
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Bolstered by investment from Tony Bloom and the data analytics expertise of the Brighton & Hove Albion owner’s football division, McInnes has reshaped the squad inherited from Neil Critchley, yielding immediate dividends.
Hearts have secured victory in 11 of their 13 matches across all competitions this season, with their sole defeat occurring in a penalty shoot-out against St Mirren in the Premier Sports Cup.
Their attacking prowess is evident, with 19 goals in eight league games, surpassing Dundee United by five goals as the league’s most prolific side.
Hearts also lead the league in goal attempts, shots on target, and conversion rate, with Celtic marginally ahead in expected goals.
Hearts have found the net in every league game this season, a feat unmatched by any other Premiership team.
Individually, Claudio Braga, a summer acquisition from Aalesunds, is joint top scorer with five goals, sharing the honors with Dundee United’s Ivan Dolcek. His brace against Kilmarnock reinforced his value.
Alexandros Kyziridis, another astute signing from Slovak club Zemplin Michalovce, leads the Premiership with four assists.
Defensively, Hearts rank among the league’s best, with only Livingston winning more duels. They also share the lead with Celtic in clean sheets, with five, albeit having played one more game.
Their current run of four consecutive clean sheets, totaling 471 minutes, represents their longest streak since a seven-game span between December 2017 and January 2018.
Striker Braga and midfielder Cammy Devlin feature prominently in the top four for duels won, while goalkeeper Alexander Schwolow, a recent addition from Union Berlin, is yet to concede a goal.
Claudio Braga has lifted some of the scoring burden off Lawrence Shankland’s shoulders
Understandably, the Hearts faithful, with nearly 4,000 traveling to Ayrshire, displayed a banner proclaiming: “In Dell we trust.”
McInnes, while “really pleased” with the win at “a notoriously hard venue,” cautioned against complacency, telling BBC Scotland: “For people who didn’t watch the game and see the scoreline and think it was all straightforward, it was far from that.
“I thought Kilmarnock started the first 15-20 minutes the better side.
“I thought we were guilty of giving away too many fouls and not looking after the first pass, poor with our clearances and invited a bit of pressure.”
However, he felt the team settled after Halkett’s opener and praised the link-up play of Braga and Shankland, after encouraging a “less frantic” approach after the interval.
“I think Lawrence has seven in all competitions as well, so we are getting plenty of goals,” McInnes said.
“I think there is that burden off him a wee bit and sharing the load. With the deliveries we’ve got at set plays, both inswingers and outswingers and the size and aggression we’ve got, we should be thinking about scoring more goals.
“I am enjoying watching the team, but there’s still loads of room for improvement and it’s important we recognise that.”
McInnes does not plan to attend Celtic’s game and stated, “we can be a bit satisfied with our work.”
“The Celtic game will take care of itself in terms of the motivation and the atmosphere in the build-up,” he said.
“They will be the team to test us the most and we’ve got to be ready for it.”
Naismith believes Hearts are improving each week.
“Earlier in the season, the results Hearts were getting were not from big performances,” he said.
“There were mistakes in there, Motherwell played them off the park for 60 minutes, so they were winning in different ways.
“But the last few performances, the derby game wasn’t a pleasant watch, but their performances are becoming more complete.
“Their forward players make the right choices at the right times and that’s what happened tonight for the second and third goal.
This was not a 3-0 game on performances. It was individual mistakes and poor quality which led to giving Hearts opportunities that they snatched out the hands of Kilmarnock.”
Naismith highlighted the squad depth McInnes has at his disposal.
“When the window shut you maybe thought the squad is too big, but I don’t think you could get a better manager to manage that,” he said.
“I think guys are coming off the bench and they’re hungry and the guys on the pitch are showing ‘I’m not coming out the team’. The real change is they have match winners in their team.”
Are Hearts now the favorites for second place?
“I wouldn’t say they are favourites, but with a bit of luck they can finish second this season,” Naismith said.
“In coming seasons, it will be a three-horse race.
“As the seasons go on, they will progressively get further away from the best of the rest and that gap will continue to close.
“The signings they are making are guys who are untapped who are minimum risk because the data backing that. They also have the fan base to grow with it. That’s why it’s such an exciting time.”
Is a title challenge a possibility this season?
“If they get to January and they are still in the mix, they may have reinforcements to come in,” Naismith added.
“Then, if it gets to March time and they are right in the mix, the pressure all pushes away from Hearts and totally on to the Old Firm because there is an expectation that they come first and second.”
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