Martin O'Neill insists Hearts can break the Old Firm's stranglehold and win the title within the next decade.
Brighton chief Tony Bloom outlined a 10-year plan for the Jambos to be crowned champions after pumping £10 million into the Edinburgh club last season. Having watched them come within minutes of ending Celtic's dominance in May, Bloom this week doubled down on his belief that the Tynecastle side are edging closer to league glory.
O'Neill backs Hearts' title credentials
Veteran boss O'Neill rode to the Hoops' rescue last season, clawing the title away from Hearts in an incredible final-day decider. But with the two sides preparing to lock horns again this weekend at Parkhead, the Northern Irishman reckons there is every chance the Premiership trophy could return to Gorgie in the coming years.
And it's mainly down to their Jamestown Analytics-powered recruitment. He said: "I do, yeah, I do. I think their recruitment is really good. I think that what they've done has put pressure on Celtic and Rangers. They're a definite challenge."
Praise for recruitment and resilience
"They kept going all last season. That was a big, big effort. They kept going and they took it right to the last couple of minutes. Are they capable of doing it? Yeah.
"I think that they've got a certain system in place at this minute, which has been used down at Brighton. They used it there and they're scouring the European scene for these things.
"I thought in the opening game of the season against Aberdeen there might have been just a bit of a hangover from last season. I think they've put that to bed and I think they've come roaring back. I think they're capable of winning the league even before that."
A challenge for Scottish football
Hearts topped the table for most of last term and came agonisingly close to winning their first championship since 1960. Sir Alex Ferguson's Aberdeen remain the last club outside the Old Firm to finish top of the pile, a feat achieved 41 years ago.
O'Neill said: "If you're looking at it from a neutral viewpoint I think it's only a great thing for Scottish football, that the Old Firm is being challenged in a big, big way. Rightly so. So it should be as well. Hearts have taken on that and I think they're here to stay.
"I have a lot of admiration for it. I really do. I have a great admiration for the way they stuck at it last season, the whole way through. Considering that they were up there all that time. You're up there, you're looking down, you feel as if 'oh gosh, could it happen'. They kept it going right to the end.
"Okay, so they've lost the manager and lost a couple of players as well. But I genuinely feel that they're a strong challenge. I think that can only be good."
There was a massive turnover at Tynecastle as boss Derek McInnes and skipper Lawrence Shankland - now both at Rangers - led a summer exodus. But the boys in maroon look to have kicked on under new boss Wouter Vrancken, who has them third in the Premiership and competing in the Europa Conference League group stages - drawing with Nordsjaelland on Thursday night.
Asked if he expects a different challenge on Sunday, O'Neill added: "No, I don't think so. I just think it's the essence of the club. They went so, so close. I think inevitably they were going to lose a couple of players. If you're thinking about the big centre-forward has gone to Rangers and things like that. But I think they've recruited really well and I just think they're physically very strong, again, which they were last season. And yeah, they are definitely challengers."
