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Chris Sutton was not deflecting or joking when he was asked if Hearts could win the Premiership this season.
‘I really do think they can, yes,’ he replied. ‘Partly because of the way they have recruited, partly because of their manager, and partly also because of the way Celtic and Rangers are playing. So I see a lot of things pointing in Hearts’ favour.’
We’ll be clearer by 2pm tomorrow afternoon if Sutton’s words are carrying extra weight. The showdown between Hearts and Celtic at Tynecastle is being relished and, should Hearts win and storm eight points clear at the top, we really will be looking at a potential seismic shift in the landscape of Scottish football.
Imagine if Hearts, come May, really are crowned the champions of Scotland. Could it happen? Yes, absolutely, and it would represent the same dramatic shifting of the tectonic plates that occurred back in 1980 when Alex Ferguson’s Aberdeen won the title, breaking the Old Firm duopoly.
It is 40 years since a club outside of the big two won the title, which might be one reason why Derek McInnes knows he could be on to something special. I do not believe for one minute McInnes is simply sauntering along, a game at a time in Edinburgh. I think he knows deep down he could pull off something astonishing and historic this season.
Hearts are the favourites among many fans and pundits to win this weekend, and with good reason. McInnes’s team have grabbed 22 points from their last 24, have scored more goals — 19 — than anyone else in the division and have the best conversion rate of shots on target/goals.
Derek McInnes has led Hearts to seven wins and a draw from their opening eight fixtures
Hearts' 2-0 win against Rangers at Ibrox helped fuel belief that they can mount a title challenge
Ferguson ended an era of Old Firm dominance when his Aberdeen side won the title in 1980
This is a team attacking with flair, and with a manager bouncing as he walks, knowing he is in the ascendancy.
A few people say, ‘ah, but look at Aberdeen last season’. They were also soaring under Jimmy Thelin, joint-top with Celtic at the end of October before a spectacular fall. Couldn’t the very same befall Hearts?
I severely doubt it. Domestically, this Hearts team and their manager look the real deal. McInnes knows this weekend is an acid test but there is little to suggest Hearts will melt in front of Celtic. On the contrary, Rodgers’ side will surely feel the heat more than Hearts in stepping out at Tynecastle.
If McInnes does win the title this season, this will be his Alex Ferguson moment from all these years ago at Easter Road, when the Dons clinched the 1980 title.
Ferguson famously went doo-lally, sprinting across the pitch like a schoolboy to grab Willie Miller and Bobby Clark, but it was the wider significance of the moment which counted. From that day on, Ferguson was a wanted man in British football.
The same will apply to Derek McInnes. If he can pull this off with Hearts then his credentials as a manager will be on fire. In the English Premier League there will be clubs looking north to the Scottish Premiership and asking: ‘What happened there? Let’s look at Derek McInnes.’
Many still hold to the belief that, one day, McInnes will be the manager of Rangers, but he has twice now resisted or rejected that opportunity.
Back in 2019 Ibrox was an open door to McInnes but, having spoken with the club’s chairman and board, he said ‘no thanks’. Just weeks ago, with yet another Rangers managerial vacancy, McInnes again backed away, this time with good reason.
Aberdeen's 1980 triumph was the first of four non-Old Firm title wins in the space of six years
McInnes has managed in England before with Bristol City but may yet earn another chance
But the lure of England? That will surely come again for McInnes, and with no greater alacrity than if he achieves this momentous feat with Hearts this season. This is one reason why this weekend at Tynecastle is so tantalising on many fronts. Victory would be a huge statement from Hearts.
Yes, we are not even into November yet, and have just completed one quarter of the league season. It is early days. But these eight league fixtures completed by Hearts so far, including that win at Ibrox, represent decent evidence of what they can do. Barring catastrophic injuries, Hearts look like staying right in the mix, if not leading it.
Sometimes you get a flavour of a manager by seeing him or knowing him away from the headlines. You just catch a glimpse.
A few weeks ago I managed to bluff my way into a Hearts fat cats’ jamboree: a meeting between the club’s main sponsors and McInnes himself. Derek sat at the front of that Tynecastle lounge before about 50 of us, taking questions. And one of his responses stood out.
‘I love being here,’ he said. ‘I love being the Hearts manager. I’d been hoping for a long time that this club might come for me.’ This was a man deeply contented with his current station in football. It partly explained why, just a few weeks later, he told Rangers not to bother.
Hearts this season could trigger The Second Coming of Derek McInnes. It is long forgotten now that, 14 years ago, he was invited to attempt the south face of English football by becoming the Bristol City manager. After an excellent opening season there, injuries and other things happened, and McInnes was sacked.
The north face of the English game — its Premier League — awaits to be conquered. McInnes one day will want it. And the chance might come, depending on these intriguing months ahead.
