The former West Brom and Middlesbrough man is cheering on the Jambos

Manchester United icon and former England international Bryan Robson is hoping Hearts boss Derek McInnes can emulate the success of his old mentor Sir Alex Ferguson by winning the Scottish top flight with a non-Old Firm side.

The Jambos are just four games away from securing Premiership glory, 41 years on from Aberdeen’s triumph under the stewardship of ‘Fergie’, who worked with Robson at Old Trafford for nearly a decade. As a player, Robson won two Premier League titles, three FA Cups and a European Cup Winners’ Cup with the Red Devils. Now working as a Global Ambassador for the club, he’s still been able to keep an eye on the Scottish title race and is wearing a maroon scarf.

Hearts’ 2-1 away win over Hibs last weekend kept their place at the top, on a weekend where Celtic won but Rangers faltered. The Light Blues now travel to Tynecastle on Monday to avenge their Motherwell defeat and close the gap on the league leaders. The Jambos currently sit three points ahead of Celtic and four clear of Rangers with four games to go.

‘It would be great to see Hearts win it’ - Robson

Speaking to Bet St George, Robson claimed he’d like to see McInnes’ men go all the way as it would end the 40 year streak of Old Firm dominance in the division, something he believes isn’t healthy for the game. He also remembered the last man to break the mould was his old boss in 1985.

Robson said: “It would be great to see Hearts win the title because it's been so many years, Sir Alex Ferguson was the last one with Aberdeen. I'd like to see Hearts do it because I don't feel it's right for a league for two teams to just keep winning the league every other year, sort of thing. That's what Rangers and Celtic have done. They're just so dominant in the Scottish league. So it'd be nice to see somebody else win it, and Hearts have got a great chance.”

Obvious comparisons have been made between McInnes and Ferguson, who was in the stands at Tynecastle in February during Hearts’ 1-0 victory over Aberdeen. However, the Man United legend had previously won titles with Aberdeen and steered to European Cup Winners’ Cup glory in 1983, while McInnes inherited a Hearts team who finished seventh last season and haven’t won the top flight league in 66 years.

McInnes on Rangers test

As the Hearts boss looks to emulate Tommy Walker’s heroics from 1960, next up is the Light Blues before Motherwell away, Falkirk at home then Celtic away. Ahead of Monday, the Hearts boss is looking forward to returning to Tynecastle and is well aware of the threat the opposition pose. He said: “There will be a lot of noise, focus and spotlight on the game, and rightly so. We all see the importance of it.

“From our point of view, it's just about trying to get the training right. We will pick a team from the squad available to us. We want to get the preparation right. All season, we have enjoyed playing at Tynecastle. We have been the team I wanted us to be at Tynecastle, and the results have generally been there for us at Tynecastle. We take a lot of confidence and comfort from that going into the game.

“We are, however, well aware that Rangers are such a strong side. The money they have spent putting that squad together deserves respect and we need to recognise there is a job to be done. Hopefully we can do our job well, enough to get the outcome we want. We are well aware that, as each game goes by, every three points becomes more and more crucial. We see the opportunity that's there and hopefully we can go and take it. Having said that, win, lose or draw on Monday, there is still a lot to be played for.”

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