Derek McInnes has led the Tynecastle side to a flying start to the Premiership campaign
Chief executive Andrew McKinlay reckons Hearts could win the Scottish Premiership – but admits it might not be this season.
And he concedes that both Celtic and Rangers are likely to shift into “overdrive” at a crucial point in the season.
Derek McInnes has led the Jambos to the summit – where they sit alongside Brendan Rodgers’ Hoops.
Hearts sit a whopping nine points ahead of Rangers after a disastrous start to the season under Russell Martin has left the Glasgow giants scrambling at the foot of the table.
Bookmakers now have the capital side as favourites for second spot – with investor Tony Bloom claimingthe club have “a very good chance of at least being second” this term.
But McKinlay is taking a more cautious approach, telling The Herald: “Do I believe that we could win the league? “It might not be this season, but yes, I do think we could win the league at some point.”
“People say, ‘Tony Bloom says you’re going to win the league. Well, some time in the next 10 years is what he actually said.
“But he also said we need to believe. And I do believe we are at the start of a very exciting journey.
“I couldn’t put a timescale on how long it might take because there’s so many variables around not just what we’re doing, but what others are doing.
“We do believe that we’ve got the best analytics you can possibly have. But there are other analytics out there that others might bring in, who knows?
“I think it’s a classic case of ‘make hay while the sun shines’.”
He reckons that people are “desperate” to see Celtic’s dominance of Scottish football challenged – but expects the table to reflect Hearts prospects around January.
McKinley added: “People are desperate to see a challenger to Celtic. Those of us that have not seen anyone from outside Glasgow win the title since 1985 want it because it would be so exciting.
“The story would be incredible. It would give Scottish football a huge shot in the arm.”
“People are always already saying, ‘oh, look how far ahead of Rangers Hearts are’. I think the bookies have even got us favourites for second now. And it’s just like, ‘would you calm down?’ Just calm down.
“I think we start the third round late January against Dundee United looking at the fixtures. And that will tell us more accurately where we are.
“Rangers and Celtic tend to go into overdrive around about Christmas time because other teams suffer suspensions and injuries. And while we have a big squad, we don’t have the depth of squad that they would have.”