Target 80 pts. Maroon and white ribbons on the trophy

[Geoff Kilpatrick]

Based on where things are now, another 42 points should get us across the line. That's 14 more wins / 2 points per game.

 

Eminently achievable.

[twb]

If I start thinking about things like this then I can't sleep at night.  One game at a time.

Edited December 17, 2025 by twb

[Penrices left boot]

80 ish points  does seem like it will win it and it is possible.

 

The next two games, although by no way decisive, would be massive, massive wins.

 

 

[mr fox]

Think 80 would do it to be honest 

Hearts Rangers Celtic have all conceded  13 goals and we are highest scorers so far.

The thing with Celtic they look shocking at the back but it’s the same goals conceded.

Will be ups and downs in this race I didn’t think we would challenge a few weeks ago but you never know now.

Huge next 2 games.

[pettigrewsstylist]

26 minutes ago, Geoff Kilpatrick said:

Based on where things are now, another 42 points should get us across the line. That's 14 more wins / 2 points per game.

 

Eminently achievable.

Really interesting to see what our ppg ratio is come FT, in game 22.

[Brian Whittaker's Tache]

[JimmyCant]

18 minutes ago, twb said:

If I start thinking about things like this then I can't sleep at night.  One game at a time.

It’s almost at the stage of taking a calculator and a fixture list to bed at night

 

Ive always said, and still think, if we’re 6 points ahead on 14th February with level games played we’ll win it

 

It’s not so much a points target for me it’s looking at the hard  runs and the easy runs. we’re in the middle of our hardest run till the split IMO. Come though the next 2 with clear water and we’ve got 3 more straightforward games to follow it. Hopefully we’ve had our one and only wobble run

Edited December 17, 2025 by JimmyCant

[Victorian]

It's not impossible but maybe a few more than 80.   18/19,  17/18 & 15/16 were in and around the same ballpark.

 

Rangers having lost just the once is the key though.   Although they have more draws than wins.   The league is very strange looking.   Motherwell have only lost 2.   But again 9 draws to 6 wins.   Celtic have already lost more matches (4) than they tend to in a full season when they romp the league.   Dundee have only lost 5.

 

It's totally messed up and unpredictable.   But if it 80 points,  surely it's going to be a blanket finish of 3 or more teams.

[JimmyCant]

9 minutes ago, Victorian said:

It's not impossible but maybe a few more than 80.   18/19,  17/18 & 15/16 were in and around the same ballpark.

 

Rangers having lost just the once is the key though.   Although they have more draws than wins.   The league is very strange looking.   Motherwell have only lost 2.   But again 9 draws to 6 wins.   Celtic have already lost more matches (4) than they tend to in a full season when they romp the league.   Dundee have only lost 5.

 

It's totally messed up and unpredictable.   But if it 80 points,  surely it's going to be a blanket finish of 3 or more teams.

It goes to show how much draws hurt you in this league. If our 2 home draws had been wins we’d be verging on uncatchable by now

 

In most circumstances for us now, draws are shite.

Edited December 17, 2025 by JimmyCant

[Victorian]

Just now, JimmyCant said:

It goes to show how much draws hurt you in this league. If our 2 home draws had been wins we’d be verging on uncatchable by now

 

True.   But relative to Rangers,  Motherwell,  Hibs,  even Falkirk & Dundee,  draws are not hurting us too badly.   We're not so good that we should have won 15 or 16 from 17 afterall.   We're ok on draws imo.

 

 

[JamboGraham]

When so many chuckled back in August when Bloom said we could be second; I assume he had simply run the Celtic and Rangers squads through his analysis tool and realised that an opportunity had opened up for us?

[JimmyCant]

6 minutes ago, Victorian said:

 

True.   But relative to Rangers,  Motherwell,  Hibs,  even Falkirk & Dundee,  draws are not hurting us too badly.   We're not so good that we should have won 15 or 16 from 17 afterall.   We're ok on draws imo.

 

 

No they’re not hurting US too much , apart from it being closer than it should be. The killie draw was a bummer. The others were about what we deserved and at least one should have been a loss

 

It’s really hurting Rangers though, although a lot of their draws should have been losses as well. Their points total is well above their ability level at the moment IMO. Hopefully they drop away starting Sunday

Edited December 17, 2025 by JimmyCant

[innerjambo]

Excitement is building, every game a must win, to keep them down, deeper and down....

[OTT]

6 minutes ago, JamboGraham said:

When so many chuckled back in August when Bloom said we could be second; I assume he had simply run the Celtic and Rangers squads through his analysis tool and realised that an opportunity had opened up for us?

 

I suppose seeing is believing, We've had 40 years of the OF playing pass the parcel between themselves for the league, that laying a glove on them so soon felt like crazy talk. 

 

Obviously now, not looking so crazy. 

[JimmyCant]

10 minutes ago, JamboGraham said:

When so many chuckled back in August when Bloom said we could be second; I assume he had simply run the Celtic and Rangers squads through his analysis tool and realised that an opportunity had opened up for us?

They laughed out loud more than chuckled. They’re not fecking laughing now !

 

His tool mustn’t have analysed what a god awful self inflicted mess Celtic would get themselves into 😂 

Edited December 17, 2025 by JimmyCant

[EIEIO]

33 minutes ago, mr fox said:

Think 80 would do it to be honest 

Hearts Rangers Celtic have all conceded  13 goals and we are highest scorers so far.

The thing with Celtic they look shocking at the back but it’s the same goals conceded.

Will be ups and downs in this race I didn’t think we would challenge a few weeks ago but you never know now.

Huge next 2 games.

Most of our goals were conceded with Clarke in goals since Schwolow (spelling) came in we've conceded car less.

[Exile fae Main Street]

Let's just take it a game at a time eh......starting on Sunday...too many ifs, buts and maybes about title talk least we jinx it.🤎🤎🤎

[Exile fae Main Street]

Lest*

[No Idle Talk]

39 minutes ago, twb said:

If I start thinking about things like this then I can't sleep at night.  One game at a time.

 

Haha 

 

I know the feeling buddy. It’s best not to think about it. Although it is getting harder not to. Just keep following the old ‘oor battle is with oorselfs’ and ‘it’s too early to talk about a title challenge’ mantras that our manager is so fond of. 

[JimmyCant]

4 minutes ago, Exile fae Main Street said:

Let's just take it a game at a time eh......starting on Sunday...too many ifs, buts and maybes about title talk least we jinx it.🤎🤎🤎

NUT. Let’s swagger our way to a stroll of a title before the Easter Bunny appears 😂 

Edited December 18, 2025 by JimmyCant

[innerjambo]

Dreaming is allowed. A lot of hard work and determination needed now. Please instill Del, with extra rocket fuel. 

[Victorian]

16 minutes ago, JimmyCant said:

No they’re not hurting US too much , apart from it being closer than it should be. The killie draw was a bummer. The others were about what we deserved and at least one should have been a loss

 

It’s really hurting Rangers though, although a lot of their draws should have been losses as well. Their points total is well above their ability level at the moment IMO. Hopefully they drop away starting Sunday

 

Yeah we've had the poor run that everyone knew would come.   Crucially we stopped it with a huge win and backed it up.   We'll surely have another poor run.   Or more than one.   I suppose the entire shooting match hinges on how bad a run(s).

[JamboGraham]

2 minutes ago, No Idle Talk said:

 

Haha 

 

I know the feeling buddy. It’s best not to think about it. Although it is getting harder not to. Just keep following the old ‘oor battle is with oorselfs’ and ‘it’s too early to talk about a title challenge’ mantras that our manager is so fond of. 

 

Indeed, always remember things can change incredibly quickly in football! Just scroll back a few pages to a fortnight ago tonight and read the opinions on this very board of our title challenge.

 

But my goodness how enjoyable is this? To not just be in the mix, but out front leading the pack with a squad that genuinely might, just might shake the foundations of football in this country (and that's only in year 1!)

[JimmyCant]

9 minutes ago, Victorian said:

 

Yeah we've had the poor run that everyone knew would come.   Crucially we stopped it with a huge win and backed it up.   We'll surely have another poor run.   Or more than one.   I suppose the entire shooting match hinges on how bad a run(s).

There’s a hard run coming up end of January to mid February. We get through that ahead by 5/6 points and it’s game very definitely on. Any draw or loss from here in has to be responded to with a win the next game. We can’t go 4/5 without a win. Must NOT lose at home to ANYONE. Can’t afford it if we’re serious

Edited December 18, 2025 by JimmyCant

[Bill Sikes]

Football is done on the pitch . . . . . 

 

Not the message board  😀😀😀

[Victorian]

1985/86 we lost 6.   If we had won the league on the last day then 5.   Either 21-10-5 or 20-11-5.   That ended tied on points with 2 more teams right in the hunt.

 

2 more matches nowadays.   So let's say something similar to tie in 80 points.   23-11-4 =80pts.   From now that means 12-6-3.   That seems entirely possible.

 

4 teams right in the race until the end?

[JamboGee92]

48 minutes ago, Victorian said:

Dundee have only lost 5.

 

That's astonishing.

[JimmyCant]

13 minutes ago, Victorian said:

1985/86 we lost 6.   If we had won the league on the last day then 5.   Either 21-10-5 or 20-11-5.   That ended tied on points with 2 more teams right in the hunt.

 

2 more matches nowadays.   So let's say something similar to tie in 80 points.   23-11-4 =80pts.   From now that means 12-6-3.   That seems entirely possible.

 

4 teams right in the race until the end?

Your numbers look right but I’m not convinced we can fail to win 9 games out of 21 and still win the league. Either Celtic or Rangers could better that (probably) with a run that looks beyond them at this stage but theyve both done it before. To me that’s a massive advantage especially if and when it gets down to the wire

Edited December 18, 2025 by JimmyCant

[bloomtime]

Lets just enjoy xmas on top and if we get through next two unbeaten and 6 or 4 pts in bag its defo possible. But never would take anything for granted even if were 10 clear with 4 games to go dens still haunts me.

[innerjambo]

Steady.......might happen, might not.

Early days etc.

[JimmyCant]

12 minutes ago, bloomtime said:

Lets just enjoy xmas on top and if we get through next two unbeaten and 6 or 4 pts in bag its defo possible. But never would take anything for granted even if were 10 clear with 4 games to go dens still haunts me.

Some aspects of this are definitely NOT enjoyable. I was biting my fingernails for the last 15 minutes tonight and we weren’t even playing FFS

 

I keep thinking about the Tannadice game in 86 and how I was absolutely convinced we’d win it from there so I’m very wary of impending disaster. God knows what state I’ll be in if this goes to the wire

Edited December 18, 2025 by JimmyCant

[Geoff Kilpatrick]

I get the "fear" from past experiences but we need to shift mindset. We have consistently been the best team this season, we have plans to push forward and we have relative consistency in selection. Why not us?

[Lone Striker]

We're likely to drop some points each month - but the important thing is to counter that by also picking  up at least  2 wins each month.   

 

80 points is  a tough target, especially with the rest of the top 6 teams showing spells of decent form (apart from Celtic, but they may well come good at some point).  More realistic is a mid-70s points haul, which could still be enough to win the title if the likes of Aberdeen, Motherwell  & Hibs  can take more points off the Bigot Brothers than they take off us.

 

Best things is to just enjoy this ride. See where it takes us.  Strengthen the squad each window so that we're even more threatening in season 2026-27.

Edited December 18, 2025 by Lone Striker

[brownkg]

Win the next two games and I'll be on the platform pressing the button to get on the happy train. Like others I still bear the scars of that game at  Tannadice knowing that was the league winning performance. 98 was the greatest ever and I never expected us to be in a position to top that.
All guns blazing on Sunday.

[Maple Leaf]

2 hours ago, Geoff Kilpatrick said:

Based on where things are now, another 42 points should get us across the line. That's 14 more wins / 2 points per game.

 

Eminently achievable.

I love your thinking. 

[Sarah O]

All we need to do is match Hibs run from this time last season and we are champions. 

 

Easy. 

[A_A wehatethehibs]

Its the 6 pointer head to heads against Rangers and Celtic that will be a huge factor in deciding it. I think form of all the top 3 will be similar against the rest. 

[Geoff Kilpatrick]

5 minutes ago, A_A wehatethehibs said:

Its the 6 pointer head to heads against Rangers and Celtic that will be a huge factor in deciding it. I think form of all the top 3 will be similar against the rest. 

I think a record of W 4 D 2 L 2 for the season would be enough, based on where they are now.

[selkirkhmfc1874]

We'll never have a better chance of doing this 

[Seaside Dave]

If we are 12 points clear end of February with same number of games played I'll believe. Until then Celtic are winning it and we just need to try and keep second 

[A_A wehatethehibs]

Just now, selkirkhmfc1874 said:

We'll never have a better chance of doing this 

 

I don’t like to think that way. It is a great opportunity, but there’s no reason it cant come again next year, or subsequent years. We can take another step forward in the quality of our team. 
 

At Aberdeen, Mcinnes backed it up 3 seasons in a row getting over 70+ points, wasn’t quite enough to get above Celtic but he finished above Rangers twice.

 

He didn’t have the Bloom factor at his disposal at that time, relying on some wheeler dealer signings rather than advanced analytics.

 

If it doesn’t happen this year we will knock on the door again next season. It is a great opportunity though been a long long time since Celtic lost a number of games in succession like this. 1978 to be exact. Just wish the other 2 Ls had been league defeats! 

[gregzy2k7]

Looking at the last 5 seasons the team that has won the premiership has garnered around 90+ points every time, however I think this year is a little different considering the amount of dropped points for both OF teams, I would consider this season to be very similar to the 2017/18 season where Celtic won the league by 82 points, interestingly they only lost 4 matches that season i believe this is the magic number that would win the Title imo as I can't see either rangers or Celtic getting past 82 points.

 

We would need to either pick up another 15 wins out of 21 which would put us on 83 or failing that win 14, draw 2 and lose 5 would get us to 82.

 

For example for Rangers to get past 82 they would need to win 18 of their 22 remaining matches, a very tall order when you consider they still have 3 x Old firm games and 3 x games against us, amongst games vs Hibs away and Aberdeen away, I geniunely can't see it.

 

For Celtic to get past 82 they would need to win around 17 of their remaining 22 games, whilst this is more probable than rangers, it is still a tall order when you consider the way they are playing and 3 x Old firms still to play and 2 x games directly against us as well as Hibs and Aberdeen away also. 

 

Its going to be fascinating and I geniunely think even if we dont win it, it will be very close and will come down to the last few games imo.

[Forrest]

6 hours ago, JamboGraham said:

But my goodness how enjoyable is this? To not just be in the mix, but out front leading the pack with a squad that genuinely might, just might shake the foundations of football in this country (and that's only in year 1!)

 

Exactly! People all over the place are saying that this is our best chance. But we've got levels to go up, both in terms of our current squad and the quality of our future arrivals. It's already happening I think, but the quality of players that we bring in going forwards I believe it's going to put us ahead of the Glasgow teams at a base level. We don't seem to mention them so much now, but remember the story of USG. 

 

6 hours ago, JimmyCant said:

Your numbers look right but I’m not convinced we can fail to win 9 games out of 21 and still win the league. Either Celtic or Rangers could better that (probably) with a run that looks beyond them at this stage but theyve both done it before. To me that’s a massive advantage especially if and when it gets down to the wire

 

The Rangers squad aren't used to the pressure of winning leagues either, although they probably have a bit more experience of going on winning runs. 

 

5 hours ago, Lone Striker said:

Best things is to just enjoy this ride. See where it takes us.  Strengthen the squad each window so that we're even more threatening in season 2026-27.

 

And keep doing it. Tony said he'd be disappointed if we don't win the league twice in the next 10 years. I genuinely think we could do it 4 or 5 times, and certainly be in with a shout the other seasons. 

 

25 minutes ago, selkirkhmfc1874 said:

We'll never have a better chance of doing this 

 

Disagree, we'll have several very good chances over the next decade and hopefully longer. We're on an upwards trajectory which is steeper than the Sectarian Firm's. 

 

14 minutes ago, A_A wehatethehibs said:

If it doesn’t happen this year we will knock on the door again next season. It is a great opportunity though been a long long time since Celtic lost a number of games in succession like this. 1978 to be exact. Just wish the other 2 Ls had been league defeats! 

 

Correct. And the season after that, and the season after that, and so on... 

[EH11 2NL]

This is where I'm at, aim for 50ish by end of January including taking another 3 off Celtic and it's on. 

[Sarah O]

Think I'm going to have a heart attack. 

[Midloth_Iain]

8 hours ago, Victorian said:

It's not impossible but maybe a few more than 80.   18/19,  17/18 & 15/16 were in and around the same ballpark.

 

Rangers having lost just the once is the key though.   Although they have more draws than wins.   The league is very strange looking.   Motherwell have only lost 2.   But again 9 draws to 6 wins.   Celtic have already lost more matches (4) than they tend to in a full season when they romp the league.   Dundee have only lost 5.

 

It's totally messed up and unpredictable.   But if it 80 points,  surely it's going to be a blanket finish of 3 or more teams.

 

Dundee Utd have lost 5

Dundee have lost 10

 

Other than that you are spot on, a totally fu**ed up season

 

 

[Arry]

Let’s deal with rangers and hobos.

[jambo89]

Personally think we will need around 88 points to win it. 

 

My thinking is that if we beat Rangers then Hibs, that puts us on 44 points with half the games played. It means repeating our first half of the season, which is completely doable. 

 

88 points would've been enough to win the league in 3 of the past 10 years, I think however, this will be the target points needed from now on.

 

Whilst 88 wasn't enough to win the league in 7 of the other 10 seasons, those league campaigns didn't have a "third challenger" i.e. was only a 2 horse race. The fact that we are now up there means that the Old Firm are likely to drop more points, more often and the required points total reduces. 

 

Looking at the EPL, the average points needed is 88 points. It all points down to the next 2 games being massive though.  

[Hearts1975]

It ain't boom or bust this season .... even if we don't do it.

Dream, yes, ... it's impossible not to. 

But if we don't do it it doesn't change that it's just the very beginning.

Bloom said within 10 years and there is a valid reason for him saying that. 

Del needs to (and he will) keep the players grounded.

 

"Our battle is with wurselves" - I feel like this is being banded about at times like it's a bit of a pisstake or speech slang from the gaffer. 

He knows exactly what he is doing. He needs to keep the squad focussed on what's immediately in front of them and not what comes after. He is essentially correct. One game at a time.

No more no less. 

 

The OP is spot on re mentality. And the stats are interesting. We haven't had to deal with this kind of pressure before. It's relentless and it hangs like an anchor day in day out, because of how well we are doing 

 

Whilst it distracts the support it can't distract the players and I believe it's how we deal with that mental battle that could literally define the outcome at the end of this season.

 

This is where I genuinely genuinely believe that we have the best man at the helm to lead our team through this pressure. He was there before and the wheels came off. He will know what to do and how to deal with it this time round. That experience could be vital in the long run. 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 18, 2025 by Hearts1975

[N Lincs Jambo]

There’s only us and the jungle jims averaging 2 or more PPG at present. It’s not easy to finish with over 2 from a position less than 2. At the moment if we continue at our current rate of 2.235 we finish on 85 points. Celtic are currently bang on 2 so heading for 76.

In contrast with our previous title challenges, this season we are likely to have the strongest squad we’ve ever had in the second half of the season and that’s without a lot of the names bandied about on here, Chesnokov excepted.

 

Bring it on!