I'll drive Tony Bloom's Hearts title train but let's be realistic about the two big engines in the way

Daily Record

3 days ago

Stevo is loving the ambitious talk coming from the new Tynecastle money man but McInnes will keep it real
Tony Bloom fairly got folk talking with his comments about wrestling Scottish football power from Celtic and Rangers.
‌
Let's get one thing straight, I loved it. It's great to hear such ambition.
‌
If Bloom's Hearts train steams all the way to the Premiership title in years to come, I sincerely hope I'm driving it.
‌
But there's a couple of big engines in the way. And I've got to be honest and realistic about the prospect of Hearts getting past them.
Bloom is a man of vision and, more importantly, substance. He's done it, so the words aren't empty. He used the examples of Brighton and Union St Gilloise in Belgium and adopting methods and analytics to bridge gaps, but we are on different tracks here in Scotland. This is a different network.
I don't want to seem downbeat, or defeatist. I'm not. As I said. I savoured hearing it and I can tell you that my Hearts pals were all the same judging by the messages I was getting ahead of the Aberdeen match in the lead up to kick-off. Fans were buzzing and it carried into their support.
I'll go as far as to say that, even had Hearts lost to the Dons, the feelgood would still be there as the new investor has given them something to believe in.
So it's not gloom and Bloom when I say my next bit. I'm just looking at it as neutrally as I can.
I understand people discussing the success of his other footballing ventures and the man himself using these as examples, but no matter what way you look at it, Hearts are up against two powerhouses. Rangers and Celtic are global clubs.
‌
You go to Australia, you've got a Celtic pub, or a Rangers pub. Same in Dubai, or anywhere, pretty much. USG has been a huge success story, but you don't see an Anderlecht pub in Melbourne, or a Standard Liege cafe in Abu Dhabi. Brighton has been immense, but they aren't overtaking Manchester City and Liverpool.
I don't mean this bad on Bloom's part, but I'm not sure he'll yet fully grasp the bulk of Rangers and Celtic. Or maybe he does, but sometimes thinking can be clouded until you live something.
‌
Hearts are themselves an situation, but on a different scale. As I said, Rangers and Celtic are global and they'll take some shifting.
I've also been interested to note the chatter around how Derek McInnes will feel about Bloom's statements. Whether he'll feel added pressure.
I'll be honest, I don't think Del's at a stage in his life or his career where he'll be working under pressure. For a start, he'll want to do well for himself.
‌
Also, and not in a big-headed way, I think he would have enough balls to sit in front of Bloom and say: I love everything you're saying because it's amazing and I hope I'm on this train when we do go and win the title.
But he'll be as realistic as he is ambitious and he'll be keeping the focus short and sweet right at this moment in time.
Like me, he'll 100 per cent be looking at the next game. Del will be driving that point home because, again, everything's heightened after Monday events on and off the park.
‌
Hearts played well. The start was outstanding. I have said defenders need to chip with goals and Stuart Findlay got that ball rolling. Lawrence Shankland's finish was outrageous and, even though it got chopped off, it's like: He is back. Everything is doubly hyped.
I loved the fact that Del came out after the game and made it clear he wanted much more from the second-half performance. He's driving standards and keeping folk grounded. You can see it in the players. They know they don't perform and they'll be watching from the stands.
It's next game, next game. Findlay came out after the match and said just that. He's an experienced operator who knows the manager's ways and thoughts. I'll bet that, even if he didn't score, Del would still have nominated him to do the post-match media because there's method in that.
‌
Let's be honest, if I'm being brutally honest about this, plenty of footballers are dumb at times and I include myself in that.
Sometimes you can sit in that changing room and go: Bloody hell, I think we could beat Celtic and Rangers this year. Then you go out there and blurt it out.
‌
Exactly 12 months ago after an opening-day draw with Rangers, Yan Dhanda came out and said Hearts could challenge the Old Firm. A few weeks later they were bottom of the league. I did the column afterwards and said: Aye, maybe he just needs to calm down a bit!
If you're the manager, you want the boys to believe it, but you don't want them to say it. And Del's too smart to have someone go out on Monday night and mouth off.
So listen, I think everything's bang on the money, but it's just about concentrating on the next game. And if Hearts rack up 10 league wins on the bounce, then fine. Let's talk about splitting the Old Firm. Then let's see where we finish before talking of overhauling them.
Right now? It's been a great start to the season, but it's just the next game. And, as much as I enjoy hearing Bloom's ambition, let's worry about winning titles a bit later down the tracks.