Soccer
Nine games to go - Why Hearts can win the SPL
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Before the start of the Scottish Premiership season, Hearts were seen as a side that could challenge for the top four and cup silverware.
They had been in a transitional phase, and the appointment of Derek McInnes was pragmatic to many trying to bring in experience and the ability to break down tough defences.
Fast forward nine months later, and with four games to go in the league campaign, Hearts are in pole position to win the league title and be the first team since Aberdeen in 1984/85 to win the league not from the old firm.
DAZN news looks at where the Scottish Premiership title can be won and lost over the next nine games.
Why they're going to win itPA
Throughout the season, Hearts have been the most consistent team, the longest streak they've been on without a win was four over the Christmas period, whereas Rangers didn't win their first Premiership game til their sixth, and at one point under Russell Martin, they sat second bottom with only four points.
Their recruitment has been excellent this season, as well as the development of young talent.
When striker Lawrence Shankland went down with a hamstring injury, midway through January after scoring 11 in his opening 21 league matches, Hearts fans feared the worst.
Whilst his strikepartner Claudio Braga hasn't heavily benefited from Shankland's absence, the side around him has been able to grind out wins when it didn't always look likely.
Winning six games with a 1-0 scoreline shows the rest of the league that they can win ugly, and when it gets to the back end of the season, that's when it matters.
InvestmentCraig Williamson/SNS Group via Getty Images
Although Hearts doesn't have the same amount of money as Rangers and Celtic, they know how to make the most of it.
With their record signing being Eduardo Egeu, reportedly costing around £2 million, that would just about rank inside both Rangers' and Celtic's top 100 most expensive signings. To hammer home the gap, Celtic's squad is worth approximately 130 million euros, whereas Hearts' is just 18 million.
However, the recent investment of Brighton owner, Tony Bloom, has aimed to bridge the financial gap between Hearts and the Old Firm.
Struggles of the Old FirmPA
For the past four decades, the Old Firm have dominated the League, but in recent years cracks have begun to show.
But until this season, no one has posed a challenge to them, and with them both participating in Europe in the early part of the season, only adding extra pressure on the squads.
Rangers paid the price with only mustering four points from their eight games in the Europa League, and Celtic recently being knocked out by Frankfurt, but not looking convincing throughout the league phase.
Managerial changes can sometimes transform the fortune of clubs, or too many of them can make matters even worse.
Celtic are now on their third manager of the season, with Martin O'Neill in charge after Brendan Rodgers and Wilfried Nancy departed, and across his two stints this season, O'Neill has only lost one game in the league out of his 13.
For Rangers, with Russell Martin in charge, they were second bottom at one point, but thanks to Danny Rohl, they've won the most points in the league and are now only five off Hearts.
The Run-In
If Celtic defeat Aberdeen tonight, Hearts' lead will still shrink to five with nine left, and arguably have the easier end of the season even before the table splits.
Playing Kilmarnock, Dundee and Livingston, who are all in the bottom four, before hosting Motherwell, now breathing down the necks of those above them.
Football is not played on paper, but McInnes' side will be strong favourites to win each of their next three before Motherwell come to Tynecastle.
You would have to think those below Hearts will have to be perfect til the end of the season to put enough pressure on them and hope they slip up.
If Hearts can keep their cool, then it's most likely that they'll win their first league title since 1960.
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