The Hoops, Scotland and Liverpool great famously led Blackburn Rovers to Premier League title glory in 1995
22:30, 05 Mar 2026
Celtic legend Sir Kenny Dalglish
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Celtic legend Sir Kenny Dalglish(Image: SNS Group)
Sir Kenny Dalglish famously led Blackburn Rovers to an unforgettable Premier League title triumph in 1995.
And the Celtic legend reckons Derek McInnes could be on course to do the same with Hearts in Scotland.
Rovers sent shockwaves across the football world by pipping Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United by a single point to be crowned champions of England. Within just four seasons, Dalglish had guided the Ewood Park outfit from Second Division mediocrity to the greatest day in the club’s history.
An eerily similar story is now unfolding in Gorgie, with the Jambos on the brink of ending the Old Firm’s 41-year stranglehold on the Scottish game - just five years after bouncing back up from the Championship.
There is no doubt in Dalglish’s mind that the men in maroon deserve to be sitting top of the pile. And the 75-year-old believes Hearts are in pole position to pull off a historic title-winning feat.
He said: "It’s good. The only thing is Motherwell, Rangers, Celtic and Hearts - you’d have thought there would be a great deal more Scottish players coming through, wouldn’t you?
"It is great to see the Premiership having a bit of competition rather than just two clubs going for it - you’ve got four. And by the way, one of them are the favourites to win it I would have thought.
"Why would you go against Hearts? Every one of them would rather have the points Hearts have got. If Hearts win it, they will have deserved to win it. Look at the results versus the Old Firm. It’s pretty much on Hearts’ side, isn’t it?
"Why would they not win it? If they have more points than anybody else, it’s their entitlement. I would think both Rangers and Celtic would say we have had a bad lapse at some stage of the season but it does not matter, Hearts have still been beating them.
"I know Rangers won 4-2 the last time but they were beaten by Hearts the first time and second time. So if they win, it is a great achievement. And it will also be deserved."
With Hearts threatening to break Celtic and Rangers' long-standing dominance, Dalglish was asked whether it can sometimes be healthy for a league when an outsider shakes up the established order.
The Liverpool legend laughed: "Who’s it a good thing for? It is great for the ones who won it, it is garbage for the ones who are finishing second! And all the way down.
Kenny Dalglish with the Premier League trophy for Blackburn Rovers
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Kenny Dalglish with the Premier League trophy for Blackburn Rovers(Image: Getty Images)
"Whatever way you look at it, you have yourself in that position to be successful. Whatever got you there, continue to produce it on the pitch. The only place where it is going to be decided is on the pitch. Other teams’ results might help you.
"But before you can get help you have to help yourself. It does not matter about the dos or don'ts, or the has or have-beens, just go and do it."
With just nine games to go, Hearts boast a five-point lead over Celtic and arguably have the kinder run of pre-split fixtures - with three of their four remaining matches against sides in the bottom half of the table.
Rival fans are waiting for the Tynecastle bubble to burst, but Dalglish insists they have the bottle to reach the finishing line.
He said: "You can have all the know-how you want, it does not make any difference if you don’t have the ability. Points make prizes, someone said on the TV show I think. Points make prizes. You can sit and surmise and speculate about this way that way. But they have the points and deserve to be there."
Celtic and Rangers have both endured crisis-hit seasons after appointing two of the worst managers in their history.
And Dalglish believes Old Firm chiefs could be left counting the cost of reckless decision-making come May.
He said: "I am not saying either of them are complacent. I just think they had a couple of bad runs, changes of managers.
"They have both had similar problems. Hearts have got McInnes in and maybe - maybe - there will be people out there saying it’s great there is a Scotsman winning the Scottish Premiership.
"They can dance all about the houses. At the end of the day, points are the most important thing and Hearts right now have got them. He has them playing at their limits. They’ve not got a great depth of squad but they have the results.
"Obviously it is either a great achievement for Hearts or the Old Firm fell away and I don’t think the Old Firm teams have reached the levels where they would be happy with.
"Both have had a lot of problems which is no one else’s fault bar their own. They have enough players. But I think a bit more consistency would not have done Rangers and Celtic any harm."
Despite crashing to seven league defeats, defending champions Celtic are still in with a chance of landing five-in-a-row.
If they do end up as champions in May, Dalglish believes there is one man who deserves the credit - returning messiah Martin O’Neill.
He added: "It is not a surprise. He was even better when he was here first time round (of his interim spells). Great experience, great education in football, working with Cloughie must have given him a lot of things. He is knowledgeable. He knows what it is about. He made a couple of changes in that Old Firm game there.
"He got them back from being on the brink to getting a draw, which could easily have turned into a three-pointer as well. Martin has done excellent.”
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Kenny Dalglish was promoting Premier Sports’ live and exclusive coverage of Rangers v Celtic on Sunday from 12pm on Premier Sports 1. Watch Premier Sports via your TV provider on Sky, Virgin TV, STV Player and Amazon Prime as an add-on subscription, and on the Premier Sports’ Player.