Can Hearts mix it with Old Firm?

Kenny Dalglish applauds the arrival of a true third force in Scottish football, but cautions against supporters’ hopes of overnight success with Rangers and Celtic sure to respond

ANYBODY who steps up to the plate and offers up a credible and considered challenge to the Old Firm has to be made welcome – and for the sake of Scottish football as a whole, I’ve no doubt that is exactly how David Murray and his Celtic counterparts feel about Vladimir Romanov’s investment at Hearts.

The title race couldn’t have been any closer last season, going right to the last couple of minutes. But all the issues had still to be decided on the last day, with Hibs sealing their Uefa Cup berth and Dundee only falling through the relegation trap-door in their final matches as well.

So the league has been more competitive than it had been for some time, and for Rangers and Celtic, the prospect of a meaningful tilt at their dominance emanating from the east is just another step down a road we’ve all been crying out to travel. The better the opposition they face week-in, week-out domestically, the better the chance of their being adequately prepared for European football – which is still very much their preserve, certainly in Champions League terms.

Hearts, of course, will have their eyes on reaching the promised land that Champions League TV, gate and hospitality monies automatically produce. But don’t underestimate the edge their arrival into the fray will give the two Glasgow clubs. They’ve seen off challenges before, and they’ll certainly respond to this . The reality, however, is that they have been held back by the old two-horse race we’ve been watching for the last 20 years – Hearts’ last-day collapse under Alex MacDonald in 1986 was itself a two-horse race, remember, and you have to go back to Alex Ferguson’s Aberdeen to find the last sustained and truly planned challenge.

The question, then, is how the Old Firm respond to facing better quality players each week – and let’s not forget that Dundee United, who obtained a fine result in Finland this week, have also increased recruitment with the likes of Lee Miller and now David Fernandez leaving a dent in Eddie Thompson’s wallet.

My point is, just because we can applaud Hearts for mounting a challenge that is not purely based on luck or circumstances elsewhere, it doesn’t mean they are going to win the SPL. I do hope the start they have had, though, gives them the momentum and belief they need to maintain their challenge when the going gets a little tougher, as it inevitably will.

The players Hearts have signed have the quality required. Edgaras Jankauskas and Takis Fyssas – who’s been there and done it with Greece and with Panathinaikos, a stand-out at Old Trafford for both as I recall it – have both come on wages unheard of outwith the Old Firm, and are strong, experienced types. A lot depends on their characters , but certainly both look to have at least a couple of years left in them. Jankauskas himself has been drawing admiring glances for a number of years , and we looked at him when he was with Real Sociedad, I think, in my year at Celtic.

George Burley, of course, is the other key factor in the Tynecastle revolution – as Paul Hartley made clear when he agreed to forget a move to Parkhead in favour of a new contract on improved terms in Edinburgh. George built a good squad at Derby, just as he did at Ipswich, and the fact they made the play-offs last year is testament to his ability given off-field whisperings in the background. That and the fact his players never stopped giving their all for him.

It won’t happen overnight, as George probably never tires of telling the excitable Hearts fans. But if the backing Romanov is providing is sustained over the medium to longer term – and there’s little to suggest so far that it won’t be – then it can happen. There’s no point trying to be a one-season wonder . Obviously, Champions League earnings would make all the difference – but it can be done, as we’ve seen in Spain or Italy, when clubs without the history or tradition Hearts enjoy make the required investment. Romanov’s club is, obviously, regulated to some degree by its shares still being listed. So some common sense will prevail and, in that context, any risk- taking using vehicles such as Kaunas who own some of the players’ registrations, is welcome. If they can produce the goods quickly, that will also give George the time he’ll need to develop the lower age groups, and Hearts already have some decent players there .

If the star signings have the desire, it may boil down to how those who have been carried over from teams past rise to these new-found expectations. They have still to handle the pressure that will come with disappointment; it is only two games after all. But the chance to get their noses in front of the Old Firm with the Glasgow derby next week is a marvellous one, though we will also have to see how they handle Rangers visiting at the end of the September first – and that’s if they are still in the mix at the top .

United, meanwhile, won’t be any easy touches today, although they may be a little tired after their exertions against MyPa 47. All told, it’s just so refreshing to be talking about something other than the Old Firm at this stage in the season. My only worry is it’s based on a lingering desperation to see someone, anyone, pick up the gauntlet. The Old Firm may not be as strong as before at first glance, but they do still have huge resources even by Hearts’ new-found standards.

Certainly, defensively, neither side may feel sure of itself yet. Alex McLeish is trying to bed in Jose-Karl Pierre-Fanfan and Julien Rodriguez, while Gordon Strachan is still getting to know the players he inherited from Martin O’Neill. They are both in transition, but both managers know from their time in that Aberdeen side how important it is to get the foundations right, and it’s for that reason I’m not convinced we’re looking at another 4-4 draw or anything at Ibrox come Saturday. Equally, I don’t see the fact Rangers are in Europe as necessarily being any great leveller. Celtic would far rather have the complication of six extra fixtures to negotiate, and Rangers would never have chosen getting additional time to prepare for SPL games. Neither would Romanov, for that matter.

John Robertson, of course, had already begun to show last season that Hearts could win in Glasgow – and not just when it didn’t matter. As with Hibs, the club has always had the off-field potential to justify serious investment. The trick, though, is to keep the punters on your side. And in the meantime, not forget two very good results elsewhere for our teams in Europe this week.

Taken from the Sunday Herald