The most exciting time for Hearts fans in 16 years - Aberdeen, Hibs divide, transfer excitement, Euro trips

Rewind to the summer of 2005 and Hearts fans were hearing of war chests and dreaming of a first league title since 1960.

That didn’t quite transpire but the splitting of the Old Firm and a Scottish Cup win, after a rollercoaster season, was a huge success with a team which is still revered in Gorgie. It meant that despite all the nonsense which had emerged throughout that famous campaign, supporters could get to the summer of 2006 with the Champions League theme song as their ringtone and the belief, well hope, that there would be substantial investment in the playing squad – possibly ‘two World Cup stars’ – to help them reach the group stages and go even closer to winning the league.

The end product – defeat to AEK Athens in the final qualifying round and a lack of real star-studded recruits arriving – didn’t match those early summer hopes.

Those 12 to 18 months, between George Burley being hired and embarking on an eight-game winless league run between October and December 2006, can be regarded both as a high point of that era but also a missed opportunity.

Now, looking ahead to the summer of 2022, Hearts and the fans have been presented with another captivating opportunity. One which could be transformative for the club and hugely exciting for the supporters. A position which the club have not been in since those heady days of 2005 and 2006. And even then, there was no guarantee of at least EIGHT European fixtures until December.

Even before the win over Hibs at Hampden to make sure of that feat, supporters were keeping an eye on their annual leave, ensuring they had just enough or plenty to see them through to the end of the year and a couple of European trips.

Now, fans are booking time off work, they are picking