As Brendan Rodgers' Celtic brace for fresh charge at home and abroad, here's why Hoops chiefs can't afford to drop guard
Celts commence their 2025/26 Premiership season, hosting St Mirren at Parkhead, when the last meaningful kicks of 2024/25 – a penalty shoot-out loss against Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup final 68 days previously – only seem like yesterday.
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Scottish Sun
an hour ago
- Scottish Sun
Tony Bloom claims Hearts can win a title in TEN YEARS as he reveals he put money on Jambos to pip Celtic to 1986 title
The Brighton owner hopes to transform the Tynecastle club and challenge the Old Firm NO KIDD-ING Tony Bloom claims Hearts can win a title in TEN YEARS as he reveals he put money on Jambos to pip Celtic to 1986 title Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) NEW Hearts investor Tony Bloom has told supporters how one of the club's darkest days hurt him too – in the pocket. The Brighton chairman was speaking at a fans event after buying a 29 percent share in the Tynecastle club in June. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 4 Tony Bloom was speaking at a Foundation of Hearts event at Tynecastle 4 And he voluntarily brought up one of the darkest days in the club's history Bloom – known as The Lizard – reiterated his desire to compete with Celtic and Rangers for titles and trophies and smash the current Old Firm dominance of Scottish football. But he also brought up one of the worst days in Hearts' history when they famously BLEW the chance to clinch the title in 1986 on the last day of the season. The Jambos needed only a draw away to Dundee to seal their first top division triumph since 1960. But two late goals from Albert Kidd handed the title instead to Celtic who had smashed St Mirren 5-0 in Paisley to top the table on goal difference. It remains one of the darkest days in Hearts' history. And Bloom revealed it was a painful afternoon for him too – as he had BET on the Jambos to win the league at a whopping 8/1. He told supporters at the Foundation of Hearts event: 'Growing up in the 70s and 80s, Scottish football was talked about a lot more in the newspapers (in England) than it is now. 'And so I've always followed Scottish football in different ways. 'When I was growing up it wasn't always an Old Firm show. 'I'm sure a few of you here will remember 1986. Brighton owner Tony Bloom celebrates £750,000 winner as his horse Energumene wins Champion Chase at Cheltenham 'I'm sorry to have mentioned it – maybe that wasn't such a good idea! 'I can't remember his name but I remember someone scoring two very late goals. 'But I remember that season as I had backed Hearts to win the league at around 8/1. 'And going into the last game it was looking very pretty! 'All we needed to do was get a win against Dundee….and it didn't quite happen. 4 Albert Kidd's double denied Hearts the title in 1986 Credit: Scottish News and Sport 'But I've always followed Scottish football and, looking from afar, I don't like the fact that over the last 35 years it's been completely dominated by the Old Firm. "And over the last 15 years apart from one season when Rangers won the league it has been dominated by one club. 'It's not good at all – and I believe I can help make a difference. 'I don't want it to be dominated by just two teams. 'I looked and thought about clubs in Scotland. 'And after I met Ann Budge and Hearts I knew this was the club I wanted to invest in." Bloom reckons Celtic's dominance of the Scottish football landscape isn't healthy. Asked what disrupting the game would mean in his eyes, he replied: "It means that, at the start of each season, the fans and media are not talking about it being a two-runner race. "That will not be the case from now on. "Every game Heart of Midlothian play in, we will play to win. "Every tournament Hearts are in, 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 - big belief in who we are, what we are, our players, our head coach, and everyone at the football club. "I think 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 has set out a ten-year vision to give Hearts fans a league title to celebrate. He is adamant they topple the Old Firm and lift the Premiership trophy before 2035. Bloom added: "Whether we'd be good enough to win the title, there's obviously no guarantees on that. 'But I will be very disappointed if in the next ten years we don't win at least one title.' 4 Bloom believes Hearts can challenge the Old Firm's dominance Credit: PA Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
Daily Record
an hour ago
- Daily Record
Elijah Just off to a flyer at Motherwell as Kiwi hopes Rangers showing can be the catalyst for World Cup dream
The summer signing has made an impressive start to life with the Steelmen Elijah Just wants to shine at Motherwell this season - and cement his place in New Zealand's World Cup squad. The 25-year-old midfielder got off to a good start at Fir Park on Saturday with an excellent display in their 1-1 draw with Rangers. Just was signed by new Well boss Jens Berthel Askou this summer from Danish outfit Horsens. And he's convinced a move to the Scottish Premiership can increase his chances of going to the USA, Mexico and Canada next summer. Just scored the Kiwis' first AND last goals in their successful World Cup qualifying campaign. He's got stiff competition in New Zealand's midfield, with the likes of NAC Breda's Matthew Garbett, Nottingham Fores t's Marko Stamenic and St Etienne's Ben Old in the mix for a starting slot. But Just hopes his performances in Lanarkshire can ensure he's part of coach Darren Bazeley's final squad. He said: 'This season is obviously really important for me personally. It's one year until the World Cup and I want to put myself in the best possible position for the national team. 'I hope I can get a good run of games, play well and we'll see what happens. 'That's a nice stat to have (qualifying goals) but the current group of players we have with New Zealand is really strong. 'There are players playing all around the world, competition is really high. 'But if I can do well in the Scottish Premiership this season, it gives me the best opportunity to play. 'The World Cup was a massive motivation for me coming here, to be in that squad. 'There are good players at really good clubs around the world but this is a massive opportunity for me at Motherwell.' Motherwell were fully deserving of their point against Rangers and will probably feel they should have won their opening day fixture. Emmanuel Longelo's late equaliser cancelled out James Tavernier's opener for the visitors - but Askou's team were on top for long spells. Just was a key part of that and he enjoyed his first Premiership experience. He praised Well's bravery on the ball as they impressed against Russell Martin's side. He said: 'When you play a team like Rangers who have a lot of quality in the first game, it's important you apply yourself the way the manager wants you to. 'We did a really good job at that. The boys were very courageous so it's a step in the right direction for us. 'It was very intense, the fans were loud. When I went to warm up, I got the feeling of - this is some proper football. 'But when the game got going, I felt good and comfortable. 'As the game went on and we didn't have the equaliser after a few chances, you start to think, OK we really need something here. 'But when the goal went in, we pushed on and had another two chances at the end so we're really happy.' Askou - just like Martin at Rangers - is asking his players to take risks in possession and play out from the back. And Just said: 'Our centre-backs are so courageous. Paul McGinn hit a fake shot in our box, it went out for a corner and Rangers scored. 'But the boys just told him to keep going because that's the way we want to play and we'll stick to it. 'We know if we play with that style, we'll create chances and be a good side.'
Scotsman
an hour ago
- Scotsman
Hearts players won't get away with anything - Frankie Kent reveals the standards at Riccarton
SPFL Scottish Premiership season 2025/26 starts at Tynecastle against Aberdeen Sign up to our Hearts newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... 'We don't really want to talk about what happened last year because of how bad it was.' For Hearts, that is probably a wise move. Players are happier previewing the new season than reviewing the old one after finishing seventh in the William Hill Premiership. There is a new management team and a host of new players in place for 2025/26 as the Derek McInnes era gets underway. Aberdeen are the first opponents at Tynecastle Park on Monday and defender Frankie Kent is grateful for the fresh start. He spent a fair portion of last season injured and unable to help team-mates in difficulty. 'Yeah, it wasn't nice. Obviously, I came back in as the top six that was already done,' he said. 'I had a bit more of a back seat last year, personally, because of how much I missed with the injury. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'I know how much it hurt the other boys as well - not quite getting into the top six, knowing that we're more than capable of doing it. We just didn't meet the standards and didn't meet the expectation last year. We want to put that right and we're excited to do that. It's just a fresh start and trying to build off probably the pre-season that we've had, the cup games that we've had, the positivity around the place, the good feeling around the place and looking to put it into the first game.' McInnes is in the process of overhauling the first team to build a more aggressive and attack-minded Hearts. New players gelled during a pre-season trip to Spain, and returned to coast through the Premier Sports Cup group phase. The Premiership will be far more competitive but new recruits like Claudio Braga, Stuart Findlay and Alexandros Kyziridis have settled quickly. 'I think nowadays it's essential for boys to try and fit in so that all the boys are getting on well with each other as much as they can,' said Kent. 'Big change, big group, but we've spent a lot of time together now. I think the week in Spain really helped with most of the new boys all there already. We've got good characters and good attitudes in the group. The boys have come in and mixed with what we've already had here, which was a good tight-knit group anyway. I think everyone's done quite well.' The squad size is now more than 30 and fitting everyone into the changing room at Riccarton can be a challenge. 'It's tight,' smiled Kent. 'It's more or less been a one-in-one-out situation because of how many boys we've got. Obviously there is the potential of new ones coming in. It's exciting, though. It's what you want. Like I said, you want new challenges. You want new boys coming in and stuff like that happening. It's just one of them you have to deal with. It's probably the first time in my career where there's been such a big turnaround of players and a big sort of influx of players, but it's good.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Kent is expected to play regularly in the most competitive squad of his time at Hearts. 'It's definitely the biggest, yeah,' he laughed. 'In some ways that's good because then there's a lot of competition. You've got to fight for your place. So training, since the day we got back, has been very high-intensity with everyone trying to impress, trying to prove themselves to be in that team and be a valued member of the squad. There's definitely a good amount of quality of players. It's exciting to see. I think you need that refresh sometimes. It's nice as players to have that competition and to have that motivation to show people that: 'Yeah, you are coming in, but I'm going to show you as well.' And vice versa.' Defenders are comfortable with how McInnes and his coaching staff want to work. 'I think we know how the manager plays. It's no secret that he likes to go man-for-man, especially high up the pitch. He just wants his team to be solid and strong all over the pitch. It's new because new managers coming in and they bring their fresh ideas and stuff. It's adapting to that and trying to get on with that as quickly as possible. I think we've done that.' New demands at Hearts for season 2025/26 in the Scottish Premiership Training tempo and intensity is something McInnes and his coaching staff emphasise every day. Players have noted the demands placed on them, designed to push them to strive for peak form. Anyone even thinking of slacking or relaxing will be identified quickly. 'In general, it's just the standards of the training and of everyone. That's a large part down to the new manager and the new coaches coming in,' said Kent. 'We are just trying to impress them and trying to be on it 100 per cent every day. Obviously, everyone wants to be in the squad, be a valued member of the squad and be in that first 11. I think that's been good to see and encouraging to see. Hopefully that can be the benchmark going forwards with the standard being set, especially in training. This manager and the coaching staff won't let you get away with anything else. So, yes, it's been good.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad At 29, Kent is a senior figure at Riccarton and enjoys the responsibility that comes with his experience. McInnes has touched on the subject with the Englishman but is content that the squad contains enough sensible heads to manage itself in many ways. The manager has discussions when necessary, including with Kent about his role. 'Just little bits here and there. I think, with my age and the experience and with other boys in the team as well, it touches on little things,' said the centre-back. 'I think it's a natural thing for most of us just to sort of manage a group, put your arm around some people. Some people need help with this or help with that. I think we've got good experienced players that can do that and can deal with that. I think most of us have been through mostly everything you can do in football. It's good to have that experience. But obviously, with the new boys coming over from the different countries and getting used to all that, I think we've got a really good tight-knit group and supportive group with us. So, yes, I think that's valuable to all the new boys.' The bond is bearing fruit on the pitch so far. Hearts scored 16 goals in four Premier Sports Cup ties last month and also put three past English Premier League side Sunderland. Momentum is building ahead of Aberdeen's arrival in the Capital. 'I think it's good to have that momentum going into the new league season. We know what that can bring,' acknowledged Kent. 'It's just nice that we did win those games - the result depending on that, with how everyone's going to be feeling and how the fans will react to stuff. 'So it's just on us to maintain it and try and keep that going. I think winning is nice. No-one wants to be losing so it's having that winning mentality and a winning start that we have had in these cup games. We just want to maintain that for as long as possible. Most of the new boys can all talk English, which obviously helps a lot, and they're good characters. They have good attitudes. Everyone's got their little bit of banter with all the new boys coming in and certain things. So it's good. We've got the feel-good factor now because of how the games have gone and that we have been winning, so it's important we try and maintain that.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Aberdeen would take significant glee from dousing the Gorgie flames. 'We played them enough times last season, obviously,' recalled Kent. 'The last one was the semi-final. We know how well they've done to win the Scottish Cup as well so they'll be on a high. But listen, it's on us to try and do as well as we can. I'm pretty sure everyone's pretty confident. 'It's probably better going in against a side like that than going in against a lesser team. I think it's good to test yourself early on to see where we're at. I feel like we're in a strong place. We're in a good place. We just want to take that confidence into the game and know it will be a tough game because they're a good team. And just, yeah, go in full foot.' READ MORE: Hearts team to face Aberdeen
