They could finish second this season with a little luck, they said.
Fans of Heart of Midlothian might interpret Saturday’s 3-0 victory over Kilmarnock as downplaying their chances, given that Celtic are currently five points clear of Celtic at the top of the Scottish Premiership.
However, Steven Naismith, one of his predecessors as head coach, was at least willing to suggest they could split the Old Firm, in contrast to the former Kilmarnock boss himself who insisted “no-one is getting carried away” with ideas of challenging for the title.
After Celtic take on struggling Dundee on Sunday, Celtic will be the favorites to close the gap, but Hearts’ victory at Rugby Park guarantees they will be at least two points clear heading into their next game, which will be at home to the reigning champions.
Hearts are already 13 points ahead of the team expected to be Celtic’s main rivals with the result of managerless Rangers being held to a draw at home to Dundee United.
- three hours ago
The Premiership is dominated by impressive stats.
The squad inherited from Neil Critchley was resurrected thanks to investment from Tony Bloom and the Brighton &, Hove Albion owner’s football analytics division, and the results are impressive.
This season, they have won 11 of their 13 games in all competitions, with the Premier Sports Cup penalty shootout being the only result.
Hearts have scored 19 goals in eight league games, which is five more than Dundee United, the next most successful club.
The only other team with a slightly higher expected goals rate has also had the highest number of goal attempts, most on target, and highest conversion rate.
More than any other Premiership team this season, Hearts have scored at least once in each of their eight league games.
Ivan Dolcek and Claudio Braga, their summer signing from Aalesunds, are both top scorers, with one more coming against Kilmarnock.
Since joining from equally unfashionable Slovak club Zemplin Michalovce, winger Alexandros Kyziridis has four assists in the Premiership this season, more than any other player.
Only bottom side Livingston has won more duels, while Hearts are tied with Celtic with five clean sheets, despite having won one more game.
Indeed, they have played four straight games and played 471 minutes without conceding, which is their longest streak since December and January 2018.
McInnes says there is room for improvement.
No wonder Hearts fans, who were almost 4000 when they traveled to Ayrshire, unfurled a banner that read, “In Dell we trust.”
McInnes himself quickly pointed out to BBC Scotland that the victory at “a notoriously difficult venue” was “really pleased” and that “it was far from that.”
“I thought Kilmarnock had the better start between 15-20 minutes.”
“I believed we were guilty of allowing too many fouls, not looking after the first pass, being poor with our clearances, and provoking a little pressure,” he said.
However, he believed Braga and fellow striker Lawrence Shankland “linked the play brilliantly and dovetailed brilliantly” after he urged his side to be “less frantic” after the break and that their team had settled after Craig Halkett’s opener.
We are scoring a lot of goals, according to McInnes, who believes Lawrence has seven in all competitions.
“I believe that he is shouldering some of the load and distributing the load.” We should be considering scoring more goals with the sets plays we’ve had, both with inswingers and outswingers, and with our size and aggression.
It’s important to acknowledge that the team has room for improvement, even though I enjoy watching them.
McInnes says “we can be a little satisfied with our work,” despite not having any plans to attend Celtic on Sunday.
He predicted that the Celtic game would handle itself in terms of the motivation and the atmosphere during the build-up.
A three-horse race will be introduced in the upcoming seasons.
Naismith believes that Hearts keeps growing stronger week by week.
He claimed that earlier in the season, Hearts’ success did not come from impressive performances.
Motherwell played them off the park for 60 minutes, and they were winning in various ways, according to the statement.
“But the derby game wasn’t a pleasant watch in the final few performances, but their performances are getting better and better.”
The forward players make the right decisions at the right moments, which was the case with the second and third goals tonight.
Performances aside, this was not a 3-0 game. Giving Hearts opportunities was due to their own mistakes and poor quality, which Kilmarnock snatched out.
Naismith cited McInnes’ depth of squad.
When the window closed, he said, “You might have thought the squad was too big, but I don’t believe you could have a better manager to handle that,” he said.
I believe the guys on the pitch are demonstrating that they are not bringing the team out of the bench and that they are hungry. They now have match winners on their team, which is the real change.
What makes it possible that Hearts are now the least likely team to finish second?
Although I wouldn’t say they are favorites, Naismith predicted that they could finish second this season with a little luck.
It will be a three-horse race in the upcoming seasons.
They will gradually deviate from the best of the rest as the seasons progress, and the gap will keep closing.
Because of the evidence, they are making the signings of men who are untapped and at least minimal risk. Additionally, they have a growing fan base. That’s why the moment is so exciting.
What are the chances of this season’s title challenge?
Naismith added that if they arrive in January and are still in the mix, they might need reinforcements.
related subjects
- Scottish Premiership
- Scottish Football
- Heart of Midlothian
- Football
- 18 June 2023
