Tony Bloom: Hearts must win Scottish title in 10 years

Tony Bloom says he will be really disappointed if Hearts have not won the Scottish Premiership within 10 years.

The Brighton chairman made the comment as he restated the long-term goal he set when he bought into the Edinburgh club. It is a bold promise in a league that has not crowned a new winner for 40 years. BBC

Bloom completed his purchase of a 29% stake in Hearts in June 2025. That is a minority holding, but a sizeable one, and it came with a clear statement of intent. At the time he spoke of taking the club to the top of Scotland's top flight, the country's equivalent of England's Premier League, within a decade. He has now underlined that ambition. He expects it to happen.

Hearts have not won the league title since 1960. That is a very long time. Generations of supporters have grown up hearing about that last triumph but never seeing another.

The reason is familiar to anyone who follows Scottish football. Since Aberdeen won it in 1985, every title has gone to Celtic or Rangers, the two Glasgow giants who dominate the game on and off the pitch. For newcomers, that dominance is hard to overstate. Two clubs, four decades. Bloom's £9.86m investment for his minority stake was aimed at breaking that hold. Sky Sports

Last season suggested it might be possible. Hearts sat top of the Premiership for 250 days, longer than any challenger in recent memory. Then came a final-day defeat at Celtic Park, Celtic's home in Glasgow. They finished two points behind champions Celtic in May.

To lead for more than eight months and then lose it on the last afternoon is the kind of ending that stays with players and supporters. So close. And yet still short. That is the feeling that has followed Hearts into this season.

There has been more upheaval since. Derek McInnes left his job as Hearts head coach to join Rangers. Wouter Vrancken is now in charge in Edinburgh and tasked with finishing the job.

What makes this stand out is the clarity. Bloom is not hiding behind patience or process. He named a timescale and he is sticking to it.

For fans, this means something simple. Ninety minutes can give strangers something to feel together, and Hearts almost gave their city that shared memory in May. Bloom believes there will be more chances, and that one of them will land within the next 10 years.