Hearts face title pressure as Rangers and Celtic close in 2026

Hearts lead a tight three-way title race with Rangers and Celtic ahead of the final five fixtures.

Title race pressure mounts Pursuing a long-awaited league crown often brings nerves, as seen with Arsenal’s recent stumbles in the Premier League. Hearts, however, appear unfazed despite not winning Scotland’s top flight since 1960. Derek McInnes’ side returned from a week-long training camp in Spain and are now preparing for five crucial matches where the top half of the table clash. Their lead at the summit is just one point over Rangers and Celtic, both three points adrift but seemingly thriving under the pressure. ## Hearts embrace the challenge with confidence McInnes noted the team’s lighthearted approach, saying, "There’s a lot of humour and enjoyment with this - it’s got to be, football isn’t always easy." He added, "When you’re in and around it, it feels as if we’re just enjoying our work. We want to enjoy it, but there’s a serious part to it in the sense that we’re all well aware now that we’ve come this far, put a lot into this season." The manager stressed the importance of how teams finish campaigns, stating, "And like anything, any race or any competition, it’s how you finish the season normally that matters." ## Unexpected success fuels Hearts Reaching this stage provides Hearts with a rare sense of freedom. A title miss would sting deeply, but even without lifting the trophy, the season could still be deemed strong given their lowly position in the bottom half a year ago. Now, under McInnes and backed by Tony Bloom’s data-driven approach, they’ve defied expectations. McInnes remarked, "Seventy points is a great number to get into the split - I think it’s the first time Hearts have done that. The first team outwith Rangers and Celtic to get to the split top of the league." ## Strong performances against rivals boost belief Hearts’ record against the top six this season reinforces their belief, with the best tally in the league. They’ve collected 33 points from 15 matches against the five closest rivals, eight more than Rangers and 11 more than Celtic. Though they lost 4-2 at Ibrox, they’ve beaten both Glasgow sides twice each during the campaign, leaving little to fear. ## Rangers lead form guide ahead of final stretch Form over the last 12 games favors Rangers, who have gained five more points than Hearts and trail by just one place in second. Celtic have collected three more points than Hearts in the same period, while the league leaders have suffered three of their five losses this term in those matches. Hearts’ performances have dipped slightly in the second half of the season, partly due to injuries to key players like Lawrence Shankland and Cammy Devlin, who missed time from January to late March. ## Injuries test Hearts’ resolve The absence of striker and captain Lawrence Shankland from January until late March, plus midfielder Cammy Devlin for a similar spell, impacted their consistency. Further blows include midfielders Oisin McEntee and Tomas Magnussen missing the rest of the campaign. However, left-back Harry Milne is set to return soon, and centre-back Stuart Findlay featured against Motherwell after recovering from injury. ## Experience versus grit in title fight Rangers currently hold the momentum, but Celtic bring the most league-winning pedigree in their squad and staff, a factor McInnes acknowledges without overstating its importance. He said, "It doesn’t give them any guarantees, but it certainly does help them. I don’t get caught up in that too much, to be honest. Really, it’s performances and just getting results and getting them any way you can at this stage. I understand that [narrative], but I actually don’t think in the cold light of day it’s the most important thing." ## Edinburgh derby looms as pivotal clash Hearts’ recent win over Motherwell kept them top after a draw with Livingston, reviving optimism ahead of a critical Edinburgh derby away to Hibernian. McInnes called it their toughest upcoming game, citing derby intensity and away form. Hearts lost their previous trip to Easter Road 3-2 after trailing 3-0 before the 50th minute. A victory there would send a strong message ahead of the visit from Rangers. ## Momentum key in final five games McInnes believes starting the split strongly could provide crucial momentum. He noted, "If you can get off to a good start in the split, it can give you that added momentum and confidence. It’ll be a big ask for any team in the split to win all five games, the evidence suggests that it’ll be difficult for any team to do that, based on what’s already happened this season. But if you can get off to a good start, then it gives you that momentum, that confidence that anything’s possible, and hopefully we can do that on Sunday." ## McEntee and Magnusson ruled out for season Hearts suffered another setback with the news that Oisin McEntee and Tomas Magnussen will miss the remainder of the campaign due to injury.