Hearts out to avoid a repeat of 1992 January blues as Celtic forced to make do in Falkirk

Hearts and Celtic will certainly testify to that as the title rivals prepare for a pair of pivotal midweek fixtures that could have a huge bearing on the situation at the top of the table.

The Tynecastle side are currently three points ahead of second-placed Rangers with a game in hand and six clear of Celtic in third having played the same number of games as the defending champions.

The stakes are high. So much so that the 1-0 victory for ten-man Hearts over Dundee at Dens Park on Sunday was hailed by manager Derek McInnes as their most pivotal result of the season. Quite the statement given his side have inflicted defeats on both Celtic and Rangers, home and away, this season. McInnes will be acutely aware, however, of the need for Hearts to follow up with another three points at home to St Mirren on Wednesday night.

And while Celtic emerged from the rubble of the short but destructive Wilfried Nancy reign with a comfortable 4-0 home win over Dundee United in Martin O'Neill's first match back in charge, a squad still lacking in key areas is sure to be tested away to an in-form Falkirk side capable of exposing any lingering fragility.

Whatever happens from here on in, the 2025-26 campaign is sure to be remembered for years to come, not only for the title challenge from Gorgie, but for the simultaneous implosion of both Celtic and Rangers, which has undoubtedly played into Hearts' hands. Celtic, after all, were nine points better off after 21 games last season. More often than not, Hearts' current tally of 44 points would place them third behind the Glasgow giants at this stage of the season.

You have to go back to 1992 - to the days of two points for a win - when Hearts last led the table in mid-January. It was also the month where their title bid suffered irreparable damage. Joe Jordan’s league leaders were two points clear of Rangers when they hosted sixth-placed Aberdeen at Tynecastle on January 11 having inflicted a 2-1 defeat on Celtic at Parkhead the previous weekend.

The result was a 4-0 home defeat, sparking a run of four losses in five matches which left Hearts seven points behind Rangers and rendered their title bid effectively over by the end of February.

McInnes and his players will be looking to avoid such January blues and they have made a solid, if unspectacular start to 2026 with two successive 1-0 wins over Livingston and Dundee.

Maintaining this form in the build up to the Premiership split will be key to Hearts' chances of ending their 65-year wait for a league title, and Scottish football's 41-year wait for a non-Old Firm champion.

A slip-up against St Mirren would be damaging. The Buddies have endured a rough time of it since lifting the Premier Sports Cup last month with injuries contributing to a dismal run that has seen Stephen Robinson’s men slump to 10th place in the table after collecting just four points from a possible 18.

Saints arrive in Edinburgh on the back of three successive defeats having scored just twice in five matches. While dropped points are inevitable during the run-in, Hearts must treat such games as must-win if title ambitions are to be maintained, particularly with Celtic up next in the league at Tynecastle on January 25 after this weekend's Scottish Cup clash with Falkirk.

With new signings already in the door - right-back Jordi Altena has impressed following his move from the Dutch second tier while a debut for winger Islam Chesnokov is on the cards following his highly-anticipated arrival from Kazakhstan - the Jambos appear well placed to kick on.

Celtic, after the disaster of the Nancy experiment, find themselves in the uncustomary position of playing catch up but the return of O'Neill has given them a stronger platform to mount a title defence. Much will depend on what Celtic do in the January transfer window, with a new number nine top of the list.

They will have to make do with current resources - which now includes defender Stephen Welsh following his recall from Motherwell - against a Falkirk side who will provide a stern test on their own patch. John McGlynn's side conceded four to Celtic on each of their previous two visits to Parkhead earlier this season, but they have won three of their last four and sit five points inside the top six of the Premiership after 21 matches. An intriguing night awaits.