With Hearts currently only sitting 2 points behind Rangers, are the Edinburgh club a genuine threat to the Old Firm going forward? The answer has to be no, for so many reasons. It must be said that teams likes Hearts, Dundee United and Aberdeen do have their moments but the SPL is predominantly a two horse race.
It would be wrong to say that Celtic and Rangers do not take other teams in the division seriously. Teams outside of the Old Firm are more than capable of beating Celtic and Rangers on their day but I do not believe it is anything more than that. Furthermore results like these are so infrequent that I do not believe that the likes of Hearts are a threat to the Old Firm going forward.
Hearts are certainly enjoying a decent season and Jim Jefferies has his team playing a very decent standard of football, but can his team do this consistently enough to warrant them becoming a genuine danger to the Old Firm going forward?
Having said this Celtic manager Neil Lennon believes his team are now involved in a three-horse race for the SPL title, insisting Hearts have emerged as a serious threat to the Old Firm at the top of the table. In regard to Hearts posing a threat to either of the Old Firm Lennon went on to say "I wouldn't dismiss it, because you could end up with egg on your face. I certainly don't want to disrespect anyone at Hearts, because I've got a lot of time for Jim Jefferies and Billy Brown. They are doing a great job at the minute."
Recent history would allow us to believe that anyone outside of the Old Firm is incapable of posing a genuine lasting threat. However, Hearts did manage to finish 2nd in 2006 but as said before this was simply deemed a flash in the pan. With the way things are going both North and South of the border, it would not surprise me if the so called lesser teams continue to beat the big teams, thus culminating in Hearts becoming a genuine threat to the Old Firm going forward.
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