Hibernian must be ready to embrace a new approach if Hearts’ domination isn’t to become the established ‘natural order’ in Edinburgh

Eight years ago this month, Craig Levein walked into the media room at Tynecastle, lit the blue touch paper and stood back.

His Hearts side had just knocked Hibs out of the Scottish Cup with a late Don Cowie goal. Seemingly not content simply to savour the Jambos’ first win over their arch-rivals in 10 attempts, Levein rubbed it in and then some with his carefully chosen words. ‘Natural order has been restored,’ he smiled.

Levein would later claim the remark was made in jest, but Hibernian, then led by Neil Lennon, didn’t see the funny side.

When Hibs won the next league derby at Easter Road in March to extend the gap on the Tynecastle men, a giant banner was unfurled in the Famous Five Stand carrying Levein’s words.

‘These things come back to bite you,’ Lennon said after a 2-0 win. ‘If the natural order means being 12 points ahead with a game in hand, I’ll take that all the time.’

For neutral observers and journalists, the pantomime was magnificent. Say what you like about Scottish football, but the verbal jousts are second to none.

Whether there was any legitimacy to Levein’s claim of Hearts’ historical supremacy was a subjective matter.

As a player, the future Scotland manager was part of a Tynecastle side which famously went 22 games unbeaten against Hibs between 1989 and 1993.

Yet the sides’ respective league finishes this century don’t suggest that Hearts have had everything their own way.

Including 2014-15, when both Edinburgh clubs were in the Championship, Hearts have finished above Hibs 14 years out of 25. So, having spent one term fewer in the second tier, the men in maroon have edged it.

You wonder, though, how the next quarter of a century will pan out. Let’s call it ‘The Tony Bloom years’.

Hibs finished third last season and are currently sitting fifth. Were they to remain there behind Motherwell, ordinarily, it would be deemed more of a disappointment than a disaster.

It’s the astonishing progress Hearts have made this season under Derek McInnes which amplifies the current noise in the capital.

David Gray can hardly be held responsible for the fact that Hibs’ great rivals now have Bloom’s Jamestown Analytics in their corner.

It’s ensured players of the ilk of Claudio Braga and Alexandros Kyziridis have turned Hearts into potential champions. You might say Hibs will privately be green with envy.

As McInnes’ side have surged to the top of the Premiership table and stayed there, a theory has arisen that this may be their best chance of becoming the first non-Old Firm team since Aberdeen in 1985 to win the title.

While it’s true that both Celtic and Rangers have not had their troubles to seek this season, this assumes that Hearts will regress come the summer, irrespective of where they finish in the table.

Yet there’s absolutely nothing in Bloom’s history with Union Saint-Gilloise or Brighton to suggest this will happen.

It took seven years before the Englishman’s initial investment in the Belgian side manifested itself in the title.

There were 14 years between Bloom taking control of his boyhood heroes and European football being secured.

So, whether Hearts finish first, second or third this season, this is only the beginning.

Remember Bloom’s words from August last year after his £10million investment was ratified?

‘I’m not saying we’re going to win trophies this season, that season, next season, but I genuinely believe that we will be a significant factor in Scottish football right here, right now and for the long term,’ he stated.

‘It’s not good for two teams to dominate one league and in the last 15 years, apart from one season, it’s pretty much Celtic.

‘I’ve seen what we’ve done at Brighton, I’ve seen what we’ve done at Union Saint-Gilloise, hence the confidence in where I think Hearts can go.’

Five months on from that interview, Hearts are still top of the league and haven’t lost a home match. A snapshot of the table shows McInnes’ side sitting 16 points ahead of Hibs.

If nothing changes, is this scenario going to be the ‘natural order’ for years to come? It is difficult to see otherwise.

There is a certainty irony in how all of this is playing out.

Two years ago, before Bloom and Jamestown arrived on the scene, it seemed that Hibs had a potential game-changer on board.

When American billionaire Bill Foley invested £6m in the Easter Road club via his Black Knight Group, it felt like Christmas had come early down Leith way.

As well as a significant capital injection, there was the promise of players arriving from Bournemouth — one of Foley’s other clubs — on loan.

With Hibs players moving in the opposite direction and information and intelligence being shared, the only question was how far the club could go.

In the fullness of time, though, the deal turned out to be the dampest of squibs. There was little personnel movement between the clubs.

And from the moment Foley publicly questioned the decision-making process north of the border, the game was up.

The only surprise was that it took until November for him to sell his 25 per cent stake back to the Gordon family.

With the potential benefits of the deal now gone and Hearts going from strength to strength, you can well understand why Hibs’ fans have been buoyed by suggestions that another wealthy figure might yet get involved.

The good news for the green half of the capital is that Anders Holch Povlsen, AKA Scotland’s richest man, has been talking to owner Ian Gordon.

The bad news is that the Danish billionaire, who is the largest individual private landowner in the UK, hasn’t agreed to step into Foley’s shoes. Not yet, at least.

An informal dialogue between the two men began when Hibs played Midtjylland, which Povlsen owns, in the Europa League at the start of this season.

While club sources are adamant that the possibility of Povlsen buying an interest in Hibs wasn’t part of the discussion, you can bet your last krone that it was on Gordon’s mind.

Once an also-ran in Danish football, Midtjylland have won the Danish Superliga title four times since 2014 and twice in the past five seasons.

Not only did they defeat Hibs on aggregate, they beat Nottingham Forest and Celtic in the group stage as they eased towards automatic qualification for the last 16.

They have built a reputation for scouting and developing talent, while using innovative coaching and analysis methods to gain an edge with recruitment. Sound familiar?

The trouble for Hibs is that even crazily wealthy people who buy into a football club tend to want to have a say in matters. That’s why the whole Black Knights thing just didn’t work out.

Hearts appear to have the best of both worlds in Bloom. An eight-figure investment, access to all that Jamestown can offer and with the Foundation of Hearts still the majority shareholder. Everyone’s a winner.

On the other side of the city, the Gordon family, understandably, don’t want to give up control.

That’s their business, of course, but it’s unlikely that there will be a queue forming around the stadium of savvy individuals willing to part with their millions and their secrets if their voice isn’t heard.

Knowledge is power. And for as long as Hearts have more of it in the building than Hibs, they’ll grow accustomed to looking down the table at their great rivals.