Celtic and Rangers are facing challenges in the 2025/26 Scottish Premiership season, allowing Hearts to capitalize on their struggles. Both Glasgow giants have not performed at their usual level, creating a competitive landscape.
Key points
Celtic and Rangers dominate the Scottish Premiership nearly every season.
The 2025/26 Scottish Premiership season has shaped up in electric fashion.
Scotland's top flight is dominated nearly every season by one or both of the league's giant clubs Celtic and Rangers, both located in Glasgow.
However, this term, Rangers have struggled mightily while Celtic have also suffered slips, most notably through the month of October. It is Hearts who are reaping the rewards.
After the Edinburgh club defeated Celtic 3-1 on October 26, dreams of a league title began dancing in the heads of supporters. They then won again at Celtic Park 2-1 on December 7, drawing them seemingly closer to the goal.
However, Celtic's re-appointment of Martin O'Neill following Wilfried Nancy's doomed tenure has fired the champions firmly back into contention. Youssef Chermiti's hat-trick gave Rangers a 4-2 comeback win over Hearts on February 15 at Ibrox, a result that left three points covering the top three in what is shaping up to be a thrilling race for glory.
Yet Hearts have benefitted from the return of Lawrence Shankland to full fitness, and have held off the challengers through the start of May, and are now on the precipice of a famous league championship.
Q&A
When was the last time Celtic or Rangers didn't win the Scottish league title?
The last time Celtic or Rangers did not win the Scottish league title was in the 1985/86 season.
How are Hearts performing in the 2025/26 Scottish Premiership season?
Hearts are currently benefiting from the struggles of Celtic and Rangers, positioning themselves as strong contenders for the title.
What challenges are Celtic facing this season?
Celtic has experienced notable slips in performance, particularly during the month of October, impacting their title chase.
What is the current status of the Scottish Premiership standings?
As of now, Rangers are struggling, and Celtic is also not at their peak, allowing Hearts to close the gap in the standings.
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Last time Celtic and Rangers didn't win Scottish title
The last time the Scottish Premiership was not won by Celtic or Rangers was all the way back in 1984/85 when Aberdeen won two league championships in a row.
The title-winning manager that year with Aberdeen was none other than Sir Alex Ferguson, who claimed the last of his three Scottish league titles before joining Manchester United in 1986.
Since then, Celtic and Rangers have combined to win the last 40 league titles, with Rangers winning 17 and Celtic claiming 23.
How many Scottish Premiership titles Celtic and Rangers won
In the 128 previous editions of the Scottish Premiership coming into the 2025/26 season, Celtic and Rangers have combined to win 110 of the league titles.
Incredibly, those titles are evenly split between the clubs, with both Celtic and Rangers dead even on 55 titles apiece.
Rangers' run of nine in a row between 1988/89 and 1996/97 helped them open up a lead, but Celtic hauled in most of that advantage with nine successive triumphs of their own from 2011/12 to 2019/20. During the latter period, Rangers did not compete in the Premiership between 2012 and 2016, when the club went into liquidation and were forced to re-enter the Scottish Football League in the fourth tier.
All other clubs have combined to win 19 league titles, with Aberdeen, Hearts and Hibernian each winning four. Dumbarton have won two (including one shared with Rangers in 1891) while Motherwell, Kilmarnock, Dundee, Dundee United, and Third Lanark have all won one.
Have Hearts ever won the Scottish Premiership league title?
Yes, Heart of Midlothian have won four Scottish domestic league titles in club history, albeit it's been quite some time.
The first Hearts league title came way back in 1894/95, which was just the fifth-ever officially recognised domestic league title. They won again two years later in 1896/97, and then would need to wait over a half century for their next domestic crown.
The third Hearts league championship came in 1957/58, before they again triumphed two years later in 1959/60, their most recent league championship.
Since then, Hearts have finished second on five separate occasions, coming closest in 1964/65 when they finished level on points with Kilmarnock but fell short of the league title thanks to that season's tiebreaker metric of goal average. Had goal difference been the tiebreaker at the time, Hearts would have won the title.
They also lost the title via a tiebreaker in 1985/86, when they again finished level on points with the champion, this time being Celtic, but their +26 goal differential fell short of Celtic's +29.
