After an epic Sunday in the SPL, Rangers fans, and indeed the other two now know exactly where things lie. This is just as we are on the precipice of the Split. With Rangers to face Falkirk at their place next weekend, not to mention Celtic facing Motherwell, there are definitely a whole heck of a lot of plot twists to come. It is all now to play for, as Hearts, having slipped up, have made the gap just three points between the top three, as highlighted in this turnaround piece. This Premiership title race is staggering.
Hearts’ Position and Devlin’s Impact
You have to go back to the 80s for the last time that any club other than either Rangers or Celtic pushed for the title. We applaud Hearts fully for taking it this far. They have a real chance of doing it. Hearts have a genuine chance of taking it all the way, and for us, the toughest one they had to face was indeed Livingston away, with that carpet of a pitch. Many sides have slipped up and taken only a point from Livingston. Hearts will not be the last team to do that, something also touched on by recent coverage.
However, a big feather in their cap is the return of Cammy Devlin. Now, the big relevance here is that Hearts have lost just two matches all season with Devlin in the team. The bizarre Edinburgh derby of last year, which they lost 3-0 at Easter Road, and strangely, Aberdeen. But apart from that, they have lost no matches at all this season with him in the lineup. That is a very strong feather in their cap for the split.
Rangers and Celtic Form Comparison
Meanwhile, Celtic, of course, have that now 6 wins of 10 in terms of a record against the teams that they are now to face. Rangers’ record has become 6 of 12. It remains the inferior record against the top six, or more to the point, the teams that are still to be faced by the top three. But this Premiership title race is such an intriguing situation. We are absolutely fascinated as to how this league title is going to go, because this is unprecedented, not just for a generation, but for several, something explored previously in this analysis.
A Historic Title Race
When one looks at the Scottish SPL, when one looks at the top flight, Rangers and Celtic are not the only teams to have ever won the league. Every other top flight team has won the title, but you are going back decades and decades and decades. Aberdeen, Hearts, Hibs, Kilmarnock, Motherwell have all won the title, and let us not forget Dundee United as well. They have all won the league. But you are going back to 1985 for the last time this happened, as also referenced by BBC Sport.
Rangers and Celtic have monopolised the top flight, basically ever since Aberdeen won that league in the 80s. Consequently, this three way tussle is extraordinary. It is an absolute lifetime since this has happened. For it to be taken to the last six matches is incredible. And we really do applaud Derek McInnes for the work he has done to achieve this, with further context in this breakdown.
Hearts’ chances
Will Hearts do it? Time will tell, of course. Naturally, as Rangers fans, we want to win the league. But we cannot really begrudge Hearts if they do it. That is the truth that most Rangers fans will admit. Well, of course, we want to win the league, and that is our priority. And if we do it, we have got 56 and Celtic did not surpass us on league titles, which is so important, while broader implications have also been discussed by Sky Sports.
But equally, there can be very few Rangers fans who would actually object if Hearts won this Premiership title race, because they have really, frankly, deserved it. But time will tell on what happens on this utter rollercoaster of a season. We have never seen anything before like it. And even if some of the much older, sorry, ‘vintage’ bears might remember an era of Aberdeen, of Dundee United and other clubs, for the vast majority of Rangers fans, this is a once in a lifetime generation, a once in a lifetime incident league title race, and it is utterly extraordinary.