🔗 Share this article

HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the sole unexpected element of Hearts' victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which surprised observers appeared when reports of the result and its consequences for the top of the table circulated. Although this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which leaves the Edinburgh side leading of the league and eight points ahead of Celtic, was seismic in nature, no one who has been tracking the fortunes of either squad this season will have been even remotely shocked by the result.

Over the last four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to something of a joke in the process. Nine games into the current campaign it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – might just be ready to make their move while the Glasgow duo iron is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

While much of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being endured by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at their stadium has resulted in that the title holders' comparatively less severe decay has been able to fester unnoticed. The defending title winners have already dropped 10 points from nine fixtures this season under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has developed the thousand-yard stare of a man who constantly consulting his schedule to see how many time are remaining until his contract expires, and woke up this day to learn the number is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time at the club," he informed reporters following the loss, after they had questioned his appetite for anything resembling a title fight. "Therefore the drive is there to try and flip the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the horrific start to the season being endured by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his men could normally be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own failure to roar out of the traps, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the mix. Despite being forced to operate with a budget that is not just a small portion of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have introduced the investment and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership mix. As well as putting in £10m during the summer, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts sole use of his top secret analytics-based Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to discover unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at Tynecastle on matchday wearing a club colours, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be observed celebrating each score with the enthusiasm of a man who had almost certainly noticed the oddsmakers had massively misjudged his team's chances of defeating the out-of-sorts title holders, and filled his boots as a result.

COACH'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said bearded team manager Derek McInnes after his team's latest success, their eighth in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for others on the outside looking in. It could alter opinions. It may confirm views that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the lads have given us. In terms of skill, we appear in a good place, and definitely in fitness we seem in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Naturally, it's not a position that the team is accustomed to being in." Correct, the manager, it is not. But the wonderful, data-driven truth is that for the initial occasion in many years, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that somebody besides the traditional powers can win.