So, what next for Heart of Midlothian Football Club?
Well, once the tears have subsided and the moist eyes have dried, it's up to them to prove to others -- but more importantly to themselves -- that this season was not just a flash in the pan. The start of something special rather than just a one-off campaign containing the full gamut of emotions; thrills, spills, excitement but, ultimately, excruciating pain.
Saturday for Hearts in the east end of Glasgow was a bit like Bullseye host Jim Bowen back in the day telling the two contestants in the final round: 'Let's have a look at what you could have won...' after the duo came up agonizingly short of scoring 101 or more with six darts. The Scottish Premiership silverware remained at Celtic Park just like 'Bully's Special Prize' -- usually a speedboat -- remained in that TV studio in Yorkshire.
However, many senior figures at Hearts are keen to stress that this is just the start of something. "This is as bad as we're going to be over the next few years" is a defiant and commonly used phrase inside the Tynecastle corridors these days. The steadfast belief far outweighs the temporary grief. A sign of the progress Hearts have made on the pitch is the frustration among everyone associated with the club that securing a place in the Champions League second qualifying round again for only the second time -- courtesy of splitting the Old Firm -- is the least of what they were hoping to achieve.
Contrast that with the only other time -- the joyous scenes at Tynecastle in May 2006 when Paul Hartley's penalty secured all three points against Aberdeen and second place in the league table. Champions League here we come...
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Hearts were top of the Scottish Premiership for 250 days, from September to May, and right up until not only the final day but the final three minutes on the final day of a dramatic league season. Then Martin O'Neill's men snatched victory, and the title, at the death. The Jambos finished second. A season presciently summed up by the name of one of the club's former fanzines; 'Always The Bridesmaid.'
And it's not the first time something like this has happened to the Jam Tarts...
In 1964-65 they lost the league to Kilmarnock on goal average (goals scored divided by goals conceded) on the final day and in 1985-86 Hearts lost the league to Celtic on goal difference after losing 2-0 at Dundee on the final day. Now they lose the league at Celtic Park with just three minutes left to play on the final day.
It's also happened before when facing the men from the east end of Glasgow...
Hearts were leading Celtic 1-0 at Hampden in their Scottish Cup semi-final in April 1988 with the same amount of normal time remaining as Saturday -- three minutes -- when Mark McGhee scored in the 87th minute before Andy Walker snatched a dramatic winner just two minutes later.
The Scottish league title is the holy grail, and Heart of Midlothian had one hand and four fingers on the trophy at the weekend, but Celtic timed their very late run perfectly to win it at the death. However, Hearts is a club, and a fanbase, that's been knocked down before, and will be again, but they will always come back for more.
"Never give up on something that you can't go a day without thinking about." -- Winston Churchill
I think there are four possible scenarios for what happens next in Scotland:
1. Hearts remain serious contenders for silverware 2. The Scottish football duopoly continues with Celtic and Rangers, and Hearts fall away 3. There's a three-horse race next season involving Celtic, Rangers and Hearts 4. The Scottish football duopoly continues, but this time involving Celtic and Hearts
Hearts remain serious contenders for silverware
Minority shareholder Tony Bloom -- the Brighton owner -- said at the start of the season that he believed Heart of Midlothian could win the title within 10 years, yet they nearly won it within 10 months. Something he also said, which wasn't as widely reported, was his belief that the Jam Tarts could split the Old Firm this season, and that's exactly what Derek McInnes and his players did.
Bloom is heavily invested in Hearts; emotionally -- he and his maroon suit travelled on the team bus to Celtic Park on Saturday and he's been a regular attendee at games this season -- as well as financially, to the tune of £9.86 million, which saw him gain a 29 per cent stake in the club in non-voting shares in November 2024. As part of that agreement, the Edinburgh club now has exclusive access in Scotland to Jamestown Analytics' player data analytics services, which was described in The Observer on Sunday as a 'cheat code for recruitment.'
You don't go to those lengths if you're not serious about backing up your beliefs and proclamations.
New players will arrive at Tynecastle Park this summer -- many from obscure leagues around Europe having been recommended by Jamestown Analytics -- and current favourites will be sold on for a substantial profit.
'There's no end to better' is Bloom's mantra, hence the belief among those senior figures at the club that Hearts are just getting started.
The Scottish football duopoly continues with Celtic and Rangers, and Hearts fall away
Remember Leicester City? 5000/1 winners of the Premier League just ten years ago yet next season they'll be playing in the third tier of English football. Dreams that become reality can soon become nightmares if the football club is mismanaged.
That's not to say the same thing will happen to Hearts, in fact it's very unlikely given the current stability at Tynecastle both on the pitch and on the balance sheet (with record turnover of £24.4m announced last November). But supporters of Celtic and Rangers will vehemently argue that their respective teams are likely to perform much better next season.
Celtic lost eight league games in 2025-26 compared with only four defeats in 24-25, and they scored just 73 goals this season this season compared with 112 goals twelve months previously.
Rangers owners didn't sanction a £50m investment in players across two transfer windows with the ambition of finishing a distant third in the Scottish Premiership, eight points behind Hearts, and with zero silverware to show for it.
If, as expected, the Old Firm strengthen their squads over the summer, which results in improved results on the field next season, then Hearts will have to do likewise. And if they don't then season 2026-27 in Scottish football might have a very familiar look about it.
There's a three-horse race next season involving Celtic, Rangers and Hearts
The Old Firm have, by a country mile, the biggest budgets in Scottish football and Hearts will be determined not to be viewed as a one-season wonder. Celtic and Rangers will no doubt spend heavily over the summer to improve their squads, while Hearts are likely to reinvest the money from player sales and will rely on the Jamestown Analytics model to unearth more lower-tier budget gems who are currently plying their trade in random leagues across Europe.
And if Hearts -- who had the best record this season against the other teams in the top six -- can produce a similar outcome and go another season only losing twice to the Old Firm (they were unbeaten in the other six league games against Celtic and Rangers, winning five of them) then it would be hard to see any of the other nine teams in the Scottish Premiership finishing close to the top three.
The Scottish football duopoly continues, but this time involving Celtic and Hearts
Rangers might have the money -- a £50m investment in players across the two most recent transfer windows -- but that is a problem if they do not know how to spend it properly, proof being their recent way-below-par recruitment. Manager Danny Röhl has recently received the backing of the club hierarchy -- the dreaded vote of confidence? -- but after losing four of the five post-split fixtures at the tail end of the season, several Rangers fans remain to be convinced that the German is the right man for the job.
Celtic are guaranteed at least Europa League group stage football next season, but victory in their Champions League playoff -- where they'll be seeded and will face either AEK Athens, NK Celje, Omonia Nicosia, LASK Linz or Viking Stavanger -- will earn them a minimum of €18.62m ($21.7m) just for taking part in the competition's league phase, with an additional €2.1m ($2.4m) on offer for every win. Whether Martin O'Neill decides to stay as manager or if he returns to semi-retirement and the club brings in a top-quality replacement, it would be a huge surprise if Celtic didn't improve upon their results this season.
Minority owner Tony Bloom claims Hearts 'are here to stay' and the specific way the season just ended, coupled with player sales over the summer, means it won't be a surprise if he helps to facilitate the signings of better-quality players for Derek McInnes. And if the Jam Tarts can combine European football commitments in 2026-27 while also replicating this season's league results then Hearts can once again challenge for the title.
Meanwhile, if Rangers don't get off to a good start next season -- would boss Danny Röhl even make it to Christmas if that happened? -- then don't be surprised if we see a repeat of east versus west at the top of the table next May.