Financial gap laid bare as Hearts use KPIs to measure progress against Celtic and Rangers

The cinch Premiership table shows Hearts distanced from everyone above and below, perhaps unsure whether to look up or down. Sitting third, they are 13 points ahead of fourth-placed St Mirren and 13 behind Celtic in second. Third spot was the Edinburgh club's stated aim this season and looks all but guaranteed with nine games remaining. Beyond that, challenging Celtic and league-leaders Rangers in future is an entirely different proposition.

Those in charge at Tynecastle Park are acutely aware of the difficulties trying to rein bigger and richer Glasgow clubs. Hearts lost 5-0 to Rangers at Ibrox 10 days ago before beating Celtic 2-0 at home on Sunday. So far this season, they have won two games and lost one against Celtic but lost all three encounters against Rangers. They look capable of getting closer to the top two and use on-field performance to measure progress, however the gap is far greater than just league points.

Despite enjoying the most stable financial structure in their 150-year history, Hearts still face a colossal gulf trying to infiltrate the Glasgow duopoly. Celtic's annual income in their most recent accounts for the year to 30 June, 2023, was £119.9m. Rangers' brought in £83.8m during the same period. Hearts' financial report for the year showed revenue of £20.8m. That is record turnover at Tynecastle but still tens of millions short of the clubs directly above them in the league.

On the field, Hearts head coach Steven Naismith is using key performance indicators to judge his side. The budgets available to Brendan Rodgers and Philippe Clement dwarf Naismith's, so he needs to work cleverly against the biggest teams in the country. He explained some of those methods to the Edinburgh News.

"You need to look at everything," he said. "For different reasons, playing at home against a team that sit in is just as hard as when you come up against the best teams in the league. We should be competing in these games. Ibrox wasn't acceptable last week.

"Looking at the stats from that 5-0 Rangers game, I would argue we played a big part in giving up all five goals. The game was gone at half-time when it was 3-0, but the other stats are around about where we need to be when we play the Old Firm. Our stats on Sunday were similar. We will have as many shots, we have as much a share of the game as they do. That's where we need to be consistent. That's what gives you the chance to show you are competing.

"Everything matters. Other things like when you are managing to play in Europe in midweek and then come home at the weekend and get a result. All these things show the progression, rather than just saying: 'Oh, we've beaten one of the Old Firm.' If we beat the Old Firm every time but keep losing to other teams, that's not acceptable."

Sunday's 2-0 victory was influenced by a red card to the Celtic forward Hyunjun Yang after 16 minutes with the game goalless. "That gave us more freedom out of possession," explained Naismith. "We wanted to press aggressively and I think we did. Our wing-backs were among the highest players on the pitch. When they went down to 10 men, you get that freedom to think that you probably don't need to think about anybody behind you. The players can just go and we trust them in their positions.

"As long as you can keep the ball and pass the ball, it asks the opponents to do more work. Inevitably, whether it's within five minutes or 45 minutes, you will get opportunities. That was the biggest thing we did well."

Hearts had to cope without the influential centre-back Frankie Kent, their most consistent defender this season, against Celtic. A knee injury precluded him from Sunday's match and will keep him out until later this month. Winger Kenneth Vargas was also absent with a tight groin.

"Losing Kenneth and Frankie were big blows to us. It just shows it doesn't impact the group and we can't allow it to," said Naismith. "You must have a group of players who are comfortable so that one drops out and somebody else comes in. We have done that all season, especially in the three-game weeks where we change personnel. We are comfortable doing it and we trust everybody in the group.

"Toby Sibbick, who hasn't had loads of minutes, came in and did a great job against Celtic. We are asking Alan Forrest to play as a forward rather than a wide player and he did really well. Aidan Denholm came on and hadn't had much game time lately. He came on for the last 10 minutes, worked hard, got on second balls and read the game well. Everybody on the pitch was really good."

Lawrence Shankland passed up the chance to score Hearts' opening goal from the penalty spot by handing the responsibility to midfielder Jorge Grant. The striker produced a predatory finish in the second half to claim his 28th goal of the season. "At this moment in time, given where we are as a group, there is no issue at all with the penalties," stressed Naismith. "Sunday was a perfect example. If Shanks was selfish and really wanting it to be about Shanks, he would grab the ball and say: 'I'm hitting this.' Not caring how he feels, just so he can get an opportunity to score. He doesn't.

"I'm not saying it lightly because he is at our club, but he is the best striker in Scotland. That's because of his hold-up play, his leadership, his goals and his all-round play. He scored a penalty on Wednesday against Hibs under massive pressure - with a delay and with objects getting thrown at him. On Sunday, he is big enough to say: 'No. Granty, you are hitting this one.' He knows he will get a chance [in open play], and when it comes along he takes it."

Financial gap laid bare as Hearts use KPIs to measure progress against Celtic and Rangers

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