Tony Bloom reaffirms Hearts title target after summer overhaul

Tony Bloom has reaffirmed his ambition for Hearts to win the Scottish Premiership by 2035, saying he would be deeply disappointed if the club did not achieve that goal. BBC Sport reported the Brighton chairman’s comments from an interview with Sky Sports, in which he assessed Hearts’ recent title challenge and the changes that followed it.

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Bloom first outlined the decade-long target in June 2025, when he completed the purchase of a 29% stake in the Edinburgh club. His stated ambition was to challenge the dominance of Celtic and Rangers. The Glasgow clubs have shared every Scottish league title since Aberdeen won in 1985, while Hearts have not been champions since 1960.

Hearts came close to ending that wait last season. They spent 250 days at the top of the table but lost at Celtic Park on the final day, finishing two points behind champions Celtic in May. Bloom told Sky Sports that the manner of the ending had been exceptionally disappointing for both him and the club, while acknowledging that Hearts had to accept the outcome.

The summer brought substantial changes at Tynecastle. Head coach Derek McInnes departed for Rangers, with captain Lawrence Shankland and midfielder Cammy Devlin also moving to the Glasgow club. Wouter Vrancken is now in charge of Hearts, who have recruited numerous players as they seek to follow up their sustained challenge for the championship.

Bloom said the timing of the coaching change had made preparations difficult, with the new head coach arriving shortly before pre-season began. Nevertheless, he believed the club had responded quickly. He described the start to the campaign as reasonably good and expressed optimism about what remained ahead, rather than abandoning the longer-term objective after the disappointment of the previous season.

Hearts sit third behind Celtic and Rangers and have gone more than a year without a home league defeat, according to the BBC report. Their next test is a visit to Celtic on Sunday. Bloom’s renewed commitment to the 2035 target comes with Hearts again positioned behind the two clubs whose long hold on the championship he wants them to break.