No Old Firm dominance 'from now on'
"Probably the last 15 years, apart from the one season when Rangers won the league, it's dominated by one club. It's not good at all and I believe I can make a difference. "I think it's really important overall for Scottish football that it is not a one or two club show and it's not going to be from now on, I assure you."Bloom said that, when he first started talking to Hearts, the view was that the target was to finish third, but now he says "the very minimum should be to finish third".He said the situation was similar to his investment in Union Saint-Gilloise, who he has helped reignite to an extent that they won the Belgian title for the first time in 90 years last season."Every game Heart of Midlothian play in, we will play to win," Bloom said. "Every tournament that Hearts are in, we think we can win it, we are aiming to win it."I accept the fact that, when we get into the Champions League, that may be a little bit difficult. But we have to have belief - we have to have big belief in who we are, what we are, our players, our head coach, and everyone at the football club."With the squad of players that sporting director Graeme Jones has helped put together under Derek McInnes, I think we will continue to get stronger year on year."Bloom revealed that his interest in Hearts goes as far back as 1986, when they needed only a draw away to Dundee to seal their first league title for 26 years only to lose out to two late goals."When I was growing up, it wasn't always an Old Firm show," he said. "I'm sure a few of you here will remember 1986. I'm sorry to have mentioned it – maybe that wasn't such a good idea!"
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
12 minutes ago
- BBC News
Paralysed teenager becomes racing driver in Scottish first
Three years ago, Ally Chalmers was standing on the podium after coming second in a national skiing competition. Just a fortnight later, he was lying in hospital, paralysed from the waist down after a devastating crash on the 17, the Glasgow teenager has made history by becoming Scotland's first wheelchair-using racing car Mini Cooper S has been specially adapted so he can use hand controls to accelerate and recently raced in the Scottish Mini Cooper Cup at Knockhill in Fife, one of the UK's most respected club-level motorsport was his first proper race and he was named runner-up Driver of the teenager passed his Association of Racing Drivers (ARD) test earlier this year - the first wheelchair user in Scotland to do so - allowing him to compete in licensed events. Ally was skiing with his mum Carole and his brothers in Glencoe in March 2022 when he crashed. The accident left him with multiple injuries, including a broken back, neck, collarbone and has been through three years of rehab and hospital suggested motor racing as something Ally could take up to fill the gap left by skiing as he used to enjoy go-karting before his the past two years, she has helped him become an accomplished racing pair bought a Mini Cooper S and began converting it for racing. Working with companies around the UK and a firm called Minimax in Scotland, they stripped the vehicle and rebuilt it into a race-spec Mini that Ally could control entirely with his be allowed to race, Ally had to prove that he would be able to get out the car on his own in 10 seconds if there was a crash or and his mum also had to campaign for rule changes to allow drivers using hand controls to all the while, Ally was learning a completely new discipline from said seeing Ally on the grid was "incredible" while Ally said: "The adrenaline's quite fun." Ally sees his competitions as a very level playing of the things that makes motorsport stand out is that it gives disabled drivers the rare chance to compete directly against able-bodied teams on equal terms."With other sports there are specialist groups for a reason but with racing there's no need if you have a hand-controlled car," he said."I've always loved competing," he said. "Getting back into sport after my accident has been huge for me."Scott MacKenzie, team principal at Minimax, said: "Ally's been really good, as soon as he got in the car nothing really phased said refitting the car was "a fair bit of work, but exciting".However, Ally declared that it was "definitely not an easy ride".Unlike most drivers, who use their feet for the clutch, accelerator and brake, he uses a set of controls built into the steering wheel is managed by a ring he pulls to speed up. Gear changes are handled with two buttons – one for upshifting and one for downshifting and there's a lever near the steering column to you're doing 100 miles an hour round Knockhill, that's a lot to manage. Ally isn't stopping here. He's already planning more races and, if things go well, a career in professional motorsport."It's taken a lot of hard work and I've had the support of so many people," he said. "I'm younger than a lot of the other drivers, so I'm proud of how the race went."I'm really looking forward to racing again and hopefully one day I can go professional."Ally's got his sights set on joining Team Brit, the world's only competitive team made up entirely of disabled racing in England, the team helps people with physical and mental challenges get into motorsport, using their own tech and years of hope to become the first all-disabled team to take on the Le Mans 24-hour endurance race and say they are building a proper pathway into racing for disabled drivers like said: "I knew, knowing Ally that, he would not be happy in life not having a sport that was as high adrenaline as ski racing was."It was important to me that he could continue to not just participate, but compete. There have been hurdles, but he's stayed focused on his goal and seeing him out there [on the race track] was amazing."He might be the first disabled race car driver in Scotland, but hopefully there'll be many more who follow him into the sport."
Daily Record
42 minutes ago
- Daily Record
Russell Martin was playing to Rangers gallery as Brendan Rodgers works Celtic notice
The Record Sport team debate all the big issues after the opening weekend of the new Scottish Premiership season Was Russell Martin right to rip into his Rangers squad at Fir Park? KEITH JACKSON: Let's be honest, it all felt a bit manufactured, almost as if Martin was playing to the gallery. He's going to have to get his system and selections right before the Rangers fans can really get behind him. SCOTT MCDERMOTT: Yes. Because at the very least it will buy him a bit more time with the Ibrox punters who are fed up with managers making excuses for this group of players. Whether it will make a blind bit of difference remains to be seen. SCOTT BURNS: Definitely. You have to set standards from the off and Rangers were lucky to even get a point at Motherwell. Results and performances like these have happened too often at Rangers and have been major factors in why they have trailed Celtic. MICHAEL GANNON: He was entitled to slap down an early marker and he wasn't wrong on a lot of points. It was still a gamble though, especially when the midfield set up looked so suspect. Should Gers fans expect their side to get past Viktoria Plzen in the Champions League qualifier? KEITH JACKSON: They can't be sure what to expect from this side but they do have every right to think a place in the next round is absolutely achievable. Failure to get there will not go down well. SCOTT MCDERMOTT: They should expect it but that's not to say it will happen. Plzen are a side Rangers should be beating, which would give themselves a real crack at the Champions League. But the display at Fir Park doesn't bode well for Tuesday night. SCOTT BURNS: If Rangers don't progress it would be a major blow. I was out with Hearts against Viktoria Plzen last season and Hearts should have beat them. If they don't progress then major question marks need to be asked. MICHAEL GANNON: It's too early to expect anything from Rangers right now. Plzen have been written off but they have tested plenty of decent teams in recent year and are capable of doing damage. Is it now inevitable Brendan Rodgers will leave Celtic at the end of the season? KEITH JACKSON: That all depends on what happens between now and the end of the transfer window. Rodgers has effectively put a gun to the head of Dermot Desmond and the board. It's now all about the nature of their response. SCOTT MCDERMOTT: Not inevitable but your gut reaction - after his comments last week about the board matching his ambition - certainly makes you think he's working his notice before leaving next summer. Which is what many of us expected to happen. SCOTT BURNS: The ball is in the hands of the Celtic board. If they back him then there is a chance he will stay. If they don't then it looks like his second coming will soon be coming to an end. It certainly looks like it will be the latter unless the club significantly ups its transfer activity. MICHAEL GANNON: There might actually be more chance of him staying now than before. Rodgers has told the board what it will take to convince him to stick around longer and it's now fully over to them. Can Hibs and Dundee United keep their Euro dreams alive? KEITH JACKSON: Hibs were unlucky not to get past Midtjylland last week but will have enough to take care of their Serbian opponents this time around. It looks like a much tougher assignment for United to get the better of Rapid Vienna. Unfortunately this feels like the end of the European road. SCOTT MCDERMOTT: It would be brilliant if they could but both have really tough ties. Can Hibs recover after that late kick in the teeth against FC Midtjylland? And are United really good enough to beat Rapid Vienna? It's difficult to see either side going through. SCOTT BURNS: It is going to be difficult because it is so early in the season and they are playing sides who are used to playing in Europe. These are games where our clubs need to start putting down markers and winning ties like this rather than putting out a plucky fight and bowing out. Hopefully, one if not both can progress. MICHAEL GANNON: They both have pretty tough ties. It's hard to see them getting through but it is about time Scottish teams caused upsets in Europe rather than being on the end of them. The key is staying in the ties for the second legs.
Leader Live
an hour ago
- Leader Live
Monday's briefing: Tottenham worry over Maddison injury and Chelsea sign Hato
Chelsea signed Netherlands defender Jorrel Hato, while Newcastle boss Eddie Howe is unsure what the future holds for wantaway striker Alexander Isak. Elsewhere, Scottish Premiership champions Celtic scraped past St Mirren. James Maddison sustained a serious-looking knee injury as Tottenham's pre-season tour of Asia concluded with a 1-1 draw against Newcastle in Seoul. The England international, who missed the closing stages of last season with a knee problem, was carried off on a stretcher after going down unchallenged late in the game. Manager Thomas Frank said the issue appeared to be a 'bad injury' before Spurs later announced the signing of Portugal midfielder Joao Palhinha on loan from Bayern Munich. Sunday's friendly was otherwise notable for the emotional reception departing South Korea forward Son Heung-min received from fans in his home city. Looking good. 😎🇳🇱 — Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) August 3, 2025 Chelsea completed the signing of Netherlands defender Jorrel Hato from Ajax in a deal worth a reported £37million. The 19-year-old, who has been capped six times by his country, signed a seven-year contract at Stamford Bridge. He became the Blues' eighth signing of the summer transfer window. Hato, who can operate in central defence or at left-back, said: 'I thought a lot about my future and wanted to take the next step in my career. Chelsea is the best place for me to do that.' Newcastle manager Eddie Howe is hoping to see striker Alexander Isak back in training in the coming days. Isak, who has been the subject of interest from Liverpool, missed the Magpies' pre-season tour of Asia amid speculation over his future. Newcastle are returning home after their trip concluded against Spurs on and Howe hopes the Sweden international will report back as normal. Howe told The Chronicle after the game: 'Of course I'd like him to but whether or not he will, I don't know at this moment in time. Other people have been dealing with that situation back at home.' William Hill Premiership champions Celtic left it late before beginning their title defence with a 1-0 victory over St Mirren at Parkhead. Luke McCowan's deflected strike three minutes from time finally broke the visitors' resistance. The substitute collected Daizen Maeda's square pass on the edge of a crowded penalty box and fired a shot which appeared to spin off Mark O'Hara's leg and nestle into the bottom corner of the net. Celtic had earlier hit the frame of the goal through Benjamin Nygren, Reo Hatate and Adam Idah, while Callum McGregor had a goal disallowed following VAR intervention. Hearts host Aberdeen at Tynecastle in the final match of the opening round of fixtures of the new Scottish Premiership season.
