Hearts Aim To Consistently Challenge For Trophies, Says McInnesnewsline24

Hearts came within one match of a first Scottish Premiership crown since 1959-1960, yet Celtic’s 3-1 win on the final day denied that milestone, and Derek McInnes is now clear that Hearts must turn competing for major trophies into a regular expectation, not a rare occasion.

Lawrence Shankland put Hearts ahead at Celtic Park, but an Arne Engels penalty levelled the match before late goals from Daizen Maeda and Callum Osmand secured Celtic’s 56th top-flight title, continuing a dominant era in which Celtic have taken 14 of the last 15 Premiership championships.

From the start of October, Hearts stayed at the league summit for 226 days, yet Martin O’Neill’s Celtic side managed to finish above them on the final day, and McInnes still described the campaign as a success that Hearts must build on after sealing second place in the Scottish Premiership table.

“In the cold light of day, when we look back, there’s been so much positivity from where we were at the beginning of the season,” he said after collecting the Scottish Football Writers’ Association Manager of the Year award.

McInnes stressed that Hearts now enter the close-season determined to reset and prepare for future campaigns at the same level, describing a club environment driven by improvement as Hearts look to challenge Celtic more often and avoid long gaps between serious title bids.

“The intention now is to dust ourselves down and try and enjoy our break, but be ready for the challenges ahead. I fully believe that those challenges are going to be met, with the enthusiasm from everybody at the club and the desire to improve and make it the norm for us to be challenging for trophies on a more regular basis.”

The last non-Old Firm club to win the Scottish Premiership was Aberdeen in 1984-85, underlining how demanding the landscape is, yet Hearts’ sustained push, individual awards for McInnes, and a clear aim to contest silverware more frequently leave the club viewing this season as a platform rather than a missed chance.