Paul Ritchie believes the “pieces are falling into place” for buoyant Hearts to capitalise on any chinks in the Old Firm armour this season.

The Edinburgh club are joint-top of the Premiership, level with champions Celtic and nine points clear of struggling Rangers, after five matches.

While acknowledging there is still a long way to go, former defender Ritchie, who won the Scottish Cup with the Jambos in 1998, believes they are potentially on the cusp of achieving something “phenomenal” under new manager Derek McInnes and with the aid of minority investor Tony Bloom and Jamestown Analytics.

“It’s exciting times to be a Hearts fan just now,” he told the PA news agency. “I think the pieces are falling into place.

“In Derek McInnes, they’ve got someone who knows the league very, very wel

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