It's a season that promised so much for Hearts but ultimately delivered on so little.
Craig Levein recruited wisely in the summer. Luring the likes of Demetri Mitchell, Zdenek Zlamal, Steven MacLean, Uche Ikpeazu, and Steven Naismith to Tynecastle looked promising. And the start of the season showed just that too.
Hearts managed to go unbeaten in their first 13 games, and even topped the Premiership with their sensational form. A 3-1 loss at Ibrox on game 14, with back-to-back wins against Aberdeen and Dundee suggesting that Hearts were the real deal this season. And they might have been, had it not been for long-term injuries to Steven Naismith, Uche Ikpeazu, and John Souttar respectively.
That coincided with some terrible form that saw them knocked out of the Betfred Cup by Celtic and drop way down the league and out of the title race. Their run of just one win in 10 was due to the injuries to key players, and Levein knew he had to do something in January to get Hearts back on track, particularly if they were going to challenge for Europe.
A lack of quality coming in the door in January didn't help, however. Hearts continued to be inconsistent in their run towards the split between January and April. They managed just four league wins before the split, but also secured four Scottish Cup wins in that time to reach a final against Celtic. Just three defeats in 10 home games was effectively what saved Hearts' top six blushes, but their form after the split was ridiculous.
Despite getting the likes of Souttar and Ikpeazu back, Hearts managed to lose four of their five post-split matches, drawing just one and winning none. The Scottish Cup final performance against Celtic proved they had one big performance left in them, but it still wasn't enough, ending in a 2-1 defeat.
Hearts go into the summer with a raft of changes likely to be made. Levein needs to get some fresh impetus into several areas of his squad, with not enough quality cover available. All the while, holding onto the likes of Ikpeazu, Souttar, and Christophe Berra is essential.
A poor sixth-place finish and no trophies to go with it. A season that promised so much for the Jambos ultimately blew up in their face.
