Brighton owner Tony Bloom has declared his unwavering confidence that Hearts will emulate Union Saint-Gilloise by becoming title winners and Champions League contestants following his investment in the Scottish Premiership club.
The English entrepreneur completed a £9.86m deal in June to secure a 29 per cent stake in the Jambos in non-voting shares. With Hearts now in partnership with the same Jamestown Analytics data firm that has underpinned the success Bloom has enjoyed in establishing his beloved Brighton in the Premier League and as a shareholder of freshly-crowned Belgian champions Union, the 55-year-old is adamant the Edinburgh club should have no ceiling in their ambitions going forward.
In his first meeting with Scottish journalists ahead of Mondays Scottish Premiership opener at home to Aberdeen, live on Sky Sports, Bloom outlined his intention to use shrewd recruitment to crack Celtic and Rangers 40-year duopoly of the Scottish top flight and help Hearts to their first league title since 1960.
Bloom: Hearts can disrupt Scottish football after £9.86m investment completeIn full: Scottish Premiership 2025/26 fixturesNot got Sky? Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract on NOW 📺Eighty per cent of all televised Premier League games next season are on Sky SportsIf we (Hearts) have not won the league title in the next 10 years, I will be very disappointed, he stated.
I want to make sure that we are in the talk to win the title at the start of each season and hopefully we wont just talk the talk but we will walk the walk. Not being in the (Scottish football) bubble I think its easier for me.
Im not just saying that as somebody thats putting some investment in, Ive seen what weve done at Brighton, Ive seen what weve done at Union Saint-Gilloise, so hence the confidence in where I think Hearts can go.
While Bloom views his involvement with Hearts as a very long-term project, he believes Derek McInnes new-look team could win the title as early as this season, and at least split the Old Firm. I genuinely believe that this current Hearts squad is very strong and every season it will develop and get stronger, he said.
I think Hearts will have an excellent season. I think we can, even from this season, challenge for every tournament that were in. I truly believe in the squad of players that has been assembled, and Ive got every faith in Dereks ability to get the best out of them and to improve them.
I think weve got a very good chance of at least being second this season. Scottish champions Celtic have to qualify for this seasons Champions League through a play-off but Bloom, who feels that is a terrible situation for Scottish football, believes Hearts can help boost the coefficent.
Hearts will be a force and when we get into Europe well be winning games and we will help lift that coefficient, he said. I hope that as and when Hearts do win the league, the coefficient is such that we go straight into the Champions League group stage, just like Union Saint-Gilloise have.
By winning the league, theyve gone straight into this seasons group stage of the Champions League. Get Sky Sports on WhatsApp | Download the Sky Sports appTransfer Centre LIVE! | Paper Talk Bloom, who helped transform Union from second-tier strugglers to Belgian champions for the first time in 90 years last term, acknowledged his talk was bold, but he insisted he has a body of work to back up his words.
I understand there will be a lot of Celtic and Rangers fans, maybe Hibs and Aberdeen fans, who will be laughing and saying weve heard it all before, he said. Thats fine. Im just saying as I see it, Im not saying its going to be a straight-line success, Im not saying were going to win trophies this season, that season, next season.
Looking from afar, looking at the success weve had with Union Saint-Gilloise, I just thought there was an opportunity here to shake things up in Scotland. Ive just got a lot more confidence of what Hearts can do compared to when I did a first press conference at Union seven years ago.
Watch Hearts Scottish Premiership opener versus Aberdeen live on Sky Sports on Monday from 7pm.