Andy Murray declares Hearts title hope that'll get him 'hammered' as he names how Hibs can dent glory bid

Sir Andy Murray admits his Hearts title stance will not go down well amongst fellow Hibs supporters - as he hopes the Easter Road side put a dent in Jambos advances this weekend.

The tennis icon is a well-known fan of David Gray’s side and is keen to see them clinch victory in this weekend’s Edinburgh derby. Three points for Hibs would be a huge boost towards their own bid for European qualifiers in the summer, but not only that, it’d be a seismic blow for Hearts as they strive for the Premiership title.

Hearts have not won the league since 1960 and Aberdeen back in 1985 were the last side outside Glasgow to clinch top flight glory. Plenty of Hibs fans would love to see their team do their bit to throw the league-leading Jambos off course in game one of the post split fixtures. The top six all face each other over the final five games, but for Murray, he reckons Hearts glory would be good for Scottish football.

Who does Sir Andy Murray want to win the Premiership title?

It’s not an opinion he expects to be popular, and it doesn’t extend as far as the derby, that the two-time Wimbledon winner sees as Hibs’ chance to make a title race impact. Murray told Sky Sports: “I mean, I will probably get hammered for this. I personally think it is a good thing for Scottish football if Hearts are able to win.

“Obviously as a Hibs fan there is such a huge rivalry there but it's been such a long time since... I think it's the 80s maybe (since a team outside Rangers and Celtic won the league)? People are asking me a lot about Scottish football and that never really happens. There is obviously a lot of interest in it. I think for Scottish football on the whole it'd be a good thing, but for Hibs Hearts rivalry, it would be disappointing. Yeah, that is going to be a big one. That is going to be Hibs' chance to dent their hopes. I hope Hibs win that match, obviously.”

Murray is not the first person with Hibs leanings to have broken rank and claim maroon ribbons on the Premiership trophy would be good overall for Scottish football. Pat Nevin, the boyhood Hibee who featured for Scotland and Chelsea, has said previously: “I was at Kilmarnock really late in my career and we got, I think it was, third or fourth. You can't beat Celtic or Rangers, we always thought, because they've got multiples, 10, 20 times, the amount of money you've got. They've got so much more, you should never ever get near them.

Why does a Hibs fan want Hearts to win the league?

“You look at it now and you think, if Hearts actually win it, it's the best thing that's happened for Scottish football, definitely at least since Alex Ferguson's time, but maybe arguably better than that, because of the percentage differences in money even from those days in the 1980’s.

“So, I think it would be one of the most extraordinary things in Scottish football history, certainly in the modern era, comparable to Leicester. That's not to denigrate a big club like Hearts. I say that as a Hibernian supporter here, and I said this last week, ‘I know a few Hibs fans. Would you just be happy for Hearts to win it? Because it would stop the Glasgow giants for once.’

“The reaction I got from that line wasn't great but it is true that there are some Hibs fans that would put up with it. There are a lot of Hibs fans that have also told me that they're leaving the country if Hearts win the league! These local rivalries go deep, but in reality, it would be a gigantic thing.”

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