Hearts sporting director shares how Celtic fans responded to league title ambition made ‘years ago’

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Hearts’ challenge to Celtic’s Scottish Premiership crown is real this season.

The Scottish Premiership table has Hearts sitting top with Celtic six points behind albeit with a game in hand.

As the Scottish press salivate at the prospect of the Edinburgh club pipping Celtic to the title, Hearts sporting director Joe Savage reveals he made this wish three years ago.

And Savage shares how the Celtic fans reacted to what he said about Hearts winning the Scottish Premiership three years ago.

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Hearts’ Joe Savage said he had Hearts title ambitions three years ago

Hearts have had a tumultuous time over the last five years. A COVID relegation in 2021 to almost being properly relegated upon their return to the top flight the following year, the Tynecastle side’s turnaround has been stark.

And as Celtic lurch from one PR disaster to another, Hearts have capitalised this season. But Savage admits he harboured this moment three years ago.

Savage told Off The Ball, “I’d done a Sky Sports interview a few years ago when we’d finished third in the league, and they’d asked me, ‘What’s your personal ambition, Joe?’.

“And I said, well, I want to win the league’. And you could tell them looking at me, I was like, yeah, ‘I want to win the league’.

“When I wake up in the morning, I want the team to win the league. I want to build a team that wins the league.”

Celtic fans slaughtered Savage’s Hearts title comments

And it appears that when those comments were made, it wasn’t just Celtic fans who rubbished Savage’s Hearts title ambition.

Savage continued, “I got slaughtered for that. Celtic fans, Rangers fans, Hibs fans, Aberdeen fans, they all slaughtered me for it.

Now, granted, we didn’t have the Jamestown analytics and investment. We were still competitive, we were still finishing third in the league.

“We were a good side and they’ve still got a lot of the players from when I was there still playing. Shankland, Frankie Kent, Craig Halkett, Stephen Kingsley.

“But to answer your question, I think Jamestown has taken Hearts to a new level. I don’t think Celtic and Rangers are as strong as they’ve previously been.”

With 20 games left to play and Celtic still to play Hearts twice with a game in hand, there is plenty of time for Wilfried Nancy to turn that gap at the top of the league around.

Nancy’s football looked a lot better in Celtic’s win against Aberdeen, and if he can keep that up, the gap to Hearts will be closed, if not overturned, sooner than many may think.