By Molly Adam

In what has already been unexpected and exciting season, Hearts lead the race to win the SPFL premiership in May. If Hearts win the league this season, it’ll be the first team outside of the Old Firm to top the division since Aberdeen in 1984/85.

With five games before the split, Hearts sit four points clear of Rangers in second and six points clear of Celtic. However, the current holders, Celtic, do have a game in hand against eighth place Aberdeen at Pittodrie.

Derek McInnes in his first season in Gorgie would be the first manager since Sir Alex Ferguson in 1985 to win the league outside of Glasgow. McInnes who has previously managed St Johnstone, Aberdeen and Kilmarnock in Scotland, has flipped Hearts around in just under a season.

League leading manager Derek McInnes (Getty Images)

Hearts started the season unbeaten until the 23rd of November where they suffered a 1-0 defeat to Aberdeen at Pittodrie. However, during this time Hearts were knocked out of the League Cup in the round of 16 by St Mirren, who would go onto win the competition.

Whilst Hearts were flying, both Glasgow outfits have struggled this season. Rangers started the 2025/26 campaign with Russel Martin in charge, which didn’t last very long. Martin was sacked on the 5th of October following disappointing league and European results. Martin had only won one game in seven league games and Rangers suffered an embarrassing 9-1 loss on aggregate from Club Brugge to be discarded from the Champions League qualifying rounds.

However, since Danny Rohl has become boss of the Gers things have looked more positive. Since Rohl’s appointment in the league, Rangers have won 14 out of 20 games, having only lost one. It’s fair to say since arriving in Govan, Rohl has got Rangers back on track to compete for the league.

Rangers manager Danny Rohl (Getty Images)

Celtic have also had a poor season this year. Celtic currently have seven losses as of February. Brendan Rodgers resigned from the Hoops on October 27th. This then led to majority shareholder Dermot Desmond calling out Rodgers for creating a “toxic atmosphere” around the club. Celtic then temporarily hired Martin O’Neill and Shaun Maloney to take over, until a permanent boss could be found.

Things then went from bad to worse for Celtic when they hired MLS side Columbus Crew boss – Wilfried Nancy. Nancy who had won MLS Coach of the Year in 2024, led Celtic to four straight defeats in a row which hadn’t happened to the club since January 1978. Nancy was sacked after eight games and O’Neill and Maloney returned to the club until the end of the season.

Celtic have also been facing turmoil between the fans and the board. Celtic fans are fed up with the way the club is being ran and are now wanting the board to step down from their positions. This has led to ultras group the Green Brigade being hit with bans and fans boycotting the club.

Celtic captain Callum Mcgregor (Getty Images)

Hearts have beaten both Rangers and Celtic twice this season, once at Tynecastle and once at Ibrox and Parkhead respectively. However, since the new year Hearts drew 2-2 with Celtic at Tynecastle and lost 4-2 to Rangers at Ibrox. These results have seen the title race become even more exciting.

Hearts have also seen league defeats from Hibernian in the Edinburgh derby and St Mirren, as well as the defeat to Aberdeen.

Hearts have also been hit with some injuries as of late. Captain Lawrence Shankland and Cammy Devlin have been sidelined since a 2-0 win at Tynecastle against St Mirren in January. The two key players for Hearts, were estimated an injury time of 6-8 weeks out of action.

Devlin is in contention to return for the game against Aberdeen this weekend and Shankland is expected to be closer to the end of March.

More recently Hearts have sustained injuries to defender Stuart Findlay, who has played every game for the Jambos. Goalkeeper Craig Gordon is out of action with a shoulder injury and Ageu will be out for months. It’s not looking great for the league leaders.

With 10 league games left, including an Old Firm derby, it is all still to play for. It has been a season that has already had it all and one that will go down in the history books, for sure. Hearts will be determined to prove the bubble never burst and win the league. With Rangers and Celtic chasing, it will be a hard task, but it would be great to see a team win the division from outside Glasgow for the first time in over 40 years.

Heart-Breakers for Glasgow?