Immortality beckons – but the heart must overcome the weight of Celtic and history

For Heart of Midlothian, the tantalizing, hardly-believable, bottom line is: they could be champions of Scotland on Wednesday after 66 years.

A big asterisk should sit next to that sentence. For history to happen, Hearts must beat Falkirk at Tynecastle and Celtic at Motherwell at Fir Park.

Few could have seen it turning out this way, but Hearts’ home record is exceptional and Motherwell have already beaten Celtic this season. In their school, actually.

Although that was during Wilfred Nancy’s time. A relative lifetime ago.

There have been many changes at Celtic, with Martin O’Neill’s shrewd advice pulling the team forward and into contention after a disappointing few days under Nancy.

They’re still playing catch-up, though. Still chasing and knowing all the time that Jens Berthel Askou’s impressive and dangerous side against their own one slip and it could be the curtain.

Despite Hearts trailing by a point, Celtic are bookies’ favorites to win the title again. Cold-blooded odds-makers rarely bought into the Hearts fairy tale, with most of them thinking Celtic would eventually come out on top.

The mere fact that the heart comes this close is trippy. Thirty-six games played, 3,240 minutes across 10 months, table toppers since September and they’ve got to this point.

In their greatest league season since falling on the final day 40 years ago, they have doubted along the way. Laughed at the start when Tony Bloom bought into the club and said they could tear the Old Firm apart in one season, questions were raised in December when they dropped points in four consecutive games.

Doubts rose in late spring when they lost two of the bottom six and then drew with Premiership bottom Livingston.

Injuries hampered them then as they hamper them now, but Hearts kept the show on the road. ‘Belief’ is the Tynecastle mantra, the gospel preached by manager Derek McInnes.