Tony Pulis names his Hearts certainty on Tony Bloom as Mick McCarthy sees 'devastating' blow clattering Celtic
The experienced bosses famed south of the border have been talking up Hearts title chances
Tony Pulis reckons Hearts can always be assured of one thing with Tony Bloom - as Mick McCarthy talks up their title chances.
The experienced managers are famed south of the border for their no-nonsense approaches in the dugout, having both managed at Premier League level. They now run a podcast, The Managers, and the topic of Hearts’ barnstorming 3-1 win over Celtic made them take notice of a title race brewing in Scotland’s Premiership.
Backed by Brighton owner Bloom’s investment and Jamestown Analytics software, ex-Stoke boss Pulis expects more gems like Claudio Braga and Alexandros Kyziridis to be unearthed. He kickstarted the conversation with McCarthy, who faced Hearts in his playing days, while at Celtic.
Tony Pulis on Hearts
Pulis put it to the former Wolves boss and ex Celtic player: “One other club I'd like to bring up and you've had the experience of playing up there, is Hearts. They've been invested into by Tony Bloom. One thing's for sure, the recruitment looking at what he's done at Brighton, the recruitment for Hearts is going to be very, very good from now on in.
“He was at the game on Sunday, I watched him on TV. He was doing somersaults after the game with his wife and I think his daughter, which was lovely to see. They ended up beating Celtic. So what's your take on Hearts? Can they win the league? Are they the best team in Scotland at the moment?”
McCarthy responded: “Well, it looks like it. I go back to when I played there. We'd go into Edinburgh and if we played Hibs, we'd say shall we nip into Hearts and take the points? That's how good we thought we were and we won the double. As a club I've always thought, right in the centre of Edinburgh, both them and Hibs.
Mick McCarthy on Hearts title chances
“Proper teams and it was great going to play there. Derek McInnes, of course, I've managed against him. He was at Bristol City and he's been at Kilmarnock. He's had time at Aberdeen. He did really well at Bristol City, I seem to remember. He had a good team there and then he's just been just almost getting there with other teams. As you said with Tony Bloom and his recruitment, and Hearts is a great club. Derek's in there. 3-1 looks like a slapping on the weekend.
Pulis came back in with: “I watched bits of it. We talk about what we think the principles of trying to get a team going and trying to get a team to win. They didn't stop running. The attitude of the team, as a team, not as individuals, but as a team was absolutely fantastic.”
McCarthy added: “His Bristol City team were always hard working. They played good football, but they were tough to play against. Quite clearly, Rangers aren't going to compete against them for the title, that's for sure. So it only looks like Celtic and where's that going wrong? I don't know. I didn't see the game, but to get beat 3-1, that's a real great score for Hearts and a devastating one for Celtic.”