FORMER Celtic and Scotland boss Gordon Strachan believes the “perfect storm” is brewing to see Hearts become title champions.
Derek McInnes‘ side are seven points clear at the Scottish Premiership summit after a fine start to the season which has seen them win nine of their first 12 matches.
And, with Celtic looking for a new manager and Rangers enduring a disappointing start to the campaign, Strachan believes Hearts have a huge opportunity to end the Hoops’ dominance.
He told Boyle Sports: “It would be huge and it would be the dream for everyone there to split up the Old Firm.
“For a while, everyone’s dream was to be second between Celtic and Rangers. But due to circumstances at both Rangers and Celtic, there’s a perfect storm at the moment that allows a team to come through this gap.
“They haven’t been lucky at Hearts, they’ve prepared for this.
Read more football stories
GAME OF CHES
Chesnokov breaks silence on Hearts move with cryptic comments about family
MEGA OFFER
Get £50 in free bets to spend on football when you stake £10 with Betfred
“With Tony Bloom and Ann Budge, who have done a lot of good work there, and Derek McInnes going in and the way they’ve signed players, it’s a perfect storm for them right now to sail through it.
“If they can do that, that would be fantastic. For me, as a Hibs supporter as a kid, this is the worst thing that could happen – I’m always joking.
“But as a Hibs fan, I’ve still got a lot of Hibs mates that find it difficult to deal with.
Strachan praised Hearts‘ recruitment under Tony Bloom and his Jamestown analytics data model – which has helped identify and bring in the likes of Claudio Braga and Alexandros Kyziridis.
He added: “But I’ve got to show great admiration for them. They’ve done well. The recruitment’s been great, helped by Tony Bloom at Brighton again, whatever he does.
“We should all be doing it, but there are only so many good players out there. We all use this data thing because we’ll all be drawn against each other. It’s been good for the game, something to talk about.
“Can they hang in there? They probably could, but as I said, it’s a bit different when you’re in the lead.
“But at this moment in time, they’re doing a great job. They drew against Dundee United, who are a hard team to beat.
“Slip ups are going to happen. They have to deal with that kind of setback if they’re going to win anything, that’s for sure.”
Strachan also believes Rangers can re-emerge as a threat under Danny Rohl.
The Gers had one of their worst starts to a season under Russell Martin before he was ousted and replaced by the ex-Sheffield Wednesday boss.
Strachan says Rohl has helped to steady the ship at Ibrox.
He said: “They will get better with Danny Rohl, because I’ve seen his work at Sheffield Wednesday.
“I like the way he goes about his job. The young German coaches at the moment are big things in European football.
“I spoke to Barry Bannan about him because I still speak to Barry.
“Barry thinks he’s a top, top coach. Now, if you get that from a really good player, you know what you’re dealing with here.
“So I think it’s been a great move for them. And would you say it was based on possession football?
“No, it’s based on trying to win games of football, trying to get the ball forward.
Read more on the Scottish Sun
IT’S NOVEMBRRRR
Snow to hit Scotland IN DAYS as Arctic blast sparks first winter cold snap
LOST SOLE
Staff made redundant as Scots shoe shop closes down after 25 years
“Now, I’m not talking about lumping the ball forward. I’m talking about people trying to play through people.
“So if they get better players with this coach, then they can be a threat, that’s for sure.”
Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
