But then, Hearts have been pretty damn impressive all season long. I wasn't the only one to suspect that they might win the Championship this season, but their dominance has been staggering, like if Stephen Hawking took on a bunch of primary schoolchildren in a quiz on quantum physics. They've lost only a single league game all season. They are twenty points clear of Hibs and twenty-four ahead of Rangers. They're averaging nearly three goals a game and have a goal difference of plus 57.
To think that, just over a year ago, some people were claiming that their young players would be permanently damaged by having to play every week in the adverse circumstances that followed administration. Try telling that now to powerful right-back Callum Paterson, called up for a Scotland squad earlier this season, or flying wingers Billy King and Sam Nicholson, or schemer Jamie Walker. They're doing just fine, trust me. Hearts' focus on youth has been the antithesis of the plan down Govan way, and it has certainly borne fruit.
That said, Director of Football Craig Levein and Head Coach Robbie Neilson insisted on bringing in some experience and quality too - so much so that the educated chaps at Tell Him He's Pele worried that they were going a bit overboard. Having powerful forwards Osman Sow and Gennaro Zeefuik is great for bludgeoning opponents, but it keeps Academy talents like Dale Carrick on the sidelines. But the club actually still have only 14 players aged 22 or over (in the top two tiers, only Hibs have fewer), and Levein and Neilson will know full well that all but the best teenagers will suffer badly from inconsistency and burnout.
So Hearts are going places - more specifically, back to the Scottish Premiership - and with style. Thoughts must already be turning to the challenges of next season...though one wonders whether they are already pretty darn well prepared for it. The club's one big stroke of bad luck this season was being drawn against Celtic in the early rounds of both the Scottish Cup and the League Cup, with both ties resulting in comprehensive defeat; this means that it's harder to judge how this team would fare against Premiership opposition.
My thoughts? They'd fare well. Very well. Maybe not Aberdeen-well, but I wouldn't relish playing against this bunch in Inverness for a start. And chances are that, next year, they'll be even better. With their house now truly in order, Hearts would be the third biggest club in the top flight and probably be able to provide the third biggest wage budget - in fact, a source of mine claims that young Paterson earns more than anyone at ICT, for example. Whilst the Dons are still on the up, I wonder if the likes of ICT and Dundee United are about to (or have already) hit a glass ceiling. Could Hearts smash through that and get much closer to Celtic than that provincial duo? I reckon they could.
Imagine if (and it's certainly possible) Rangers miss out on the Premiership for yet another year. How about a 2015/16 Premiership season with Celtic being closely pursued by Aberdeen and Hearts for the title? That could be fun...
Lawrie Spence (LS) has ranted and spouted his ill-informed opinions on Narey's Toepoker since September 2007. He has a life outside this blog. Honestly.
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