Hearts chiefs have long-held ambitions of breaking the top two stranglehold of Celtic and Rangers.
Robbie Neilson was handed a 'nowhere near realistic' target of breaking Celtic and Rangers stranglehold on first and second place, according to Lee McCulloch.
The former Jambos assistant reckons when he and former boss Neilson were told of the Gorgie ambitions to break in to runners up in the Scottish Premiership 'within two years', it was a sign of the daunting task ahead. Hearts finished third the season prior and had been heralded for their performances against the rest and when the Old Firm came to town.
But the former Ibrox star believes the financial gulf plays a huge role, but that a team like Hearts will always have confidence they can take the scalp of the big two. McCulloch told PLZ Soccer: "It all comes down to money and budget and then you're attracting better players. They've got some top, top players and comparing them to Hibs, Hibs are nowhere near them. But you've got to believe.
"But you don't get that every week when the teams are coming up against Rangers and Celtic. You don't get 'the gulf is massive so they deserve to beat us'. The manager needs to believe that they can take on Rangers and Celtic. Look at Hearts last season. They were saying to Robbie 'we're expecting in the next year or two to be the team that's second'. Is that realistic? With the budgets, no it's not. It's nowhere near realistic.
McCulloch added when quizzed what significant investment was needed: "I think even if the board do that it would take a couple of windows. And with the revenue Rangers and Celtic are getting, it's a one off season. It's never going to be sustainable."
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