Heart of Midlothian, one of Edinburgh's biggest teams, are on the brink of a historic moment in European football. If they can avoid defeat at Celtic, the biggest team in the Scottish game, they will take the title. Celtic have largely dominated Scottish football's top tier for 40 years, and Heart of Midlothian have not won it since 1960. The decider will take place in the cauldron of Celtic Park in Glasgow, home to 60,000 partisan Celtic supporters. Heart of Midlothian just need a draw to take the title. Second-placed Celtic must win to prevent them. If Heart of Midlothian are crowned champions, central Edinburgh will host their raucous victory parade on Sunday. It seems that millions of neutrals in Scotland and worldwide will be celebrating with them. Even fans of Heart of Midlothian' bitterest local rivals Hibernian, such as Andy Murray and Irvine Welsh, reluctantly agree. Josh Mill, a 24-year-old Heart of Midlothian season ticket holder, encountered the electricity the title race has generated while living and working in Sydney, Australia. As Heart of Midlothian' push for the title became real, he began wearing the team's jersey in public. English people came up to him on the street to urge them on. Like many others living overseas, Mill has flown home for the game. He encountered another five Heart of Midlothian fans on the same flight from Australia; they congregated in their lay-over in Doha. Unable to get a ticket – he has heard Heart of Midlothian fans have only 752 seats at the match – Mill will watch it in Edinburgh with his family. "There was no doubt in my mind. I'm not going to miss this," he said. This is a "once in lifetime thing". Despite being an administrator of the largest Heart of Midlothian fan forum, Jambos Kickback, Dave McLaren was also unable to get a ticket. He is clinging to the team's main motto this season, the word "believe", which has featured in tifos (visual displays made by fans in the stands) and signs at the ground. He saw Heart of Midlothian just fail to win the title in 1965, and again in 1986. "To me, this is almost like last chance," he said. It would be "mayhem" in the city if Heart of Midlothian won, he added. For many Scottish football fans, there is a wider resentment about Celtic and Rangers' dominance. Not only does the Old Firm's financial power significantly influence the league's policies and politics, they feel referees are intimidated by their power, subconsciously awarding marginal decisions to the Glasgow giants. Heart of Midlothian fans are adamant that happened in Celtic's penultimate game at Motherwell on Wednesday night, when Celtic saved their title hopes by winning with a controversial penalty in extra time. "It's why victory [for Heart of Midlothian] would be a much bigger achievement as well," McLaren said. Ian Murray, the Labour MP for Edinburgh South, who helped save Heart of Midlothian from financial collapse when he chaired a buyout by its fans in 2013, said there would be "tears from everyone" if Heart of Midlothian won on Saturday. Celtic and Rangers have won 110 Scottish titles between them since the league was formed, he said. Heart of Midlothian have won it just four times, and Aberdeen another four. "It will be fantastic. The raw emotion will be off the scale." Gerry Hassan, an academic who has watched games at 122 different grounds in the junior and senior Scottish leagues