🔗 Share this article

HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the sole unexpected aspect of Heart of Midlothian's victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was just how surprised people seemed when reports of the result and its consequences for the summit of the table emerged. Although this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which puts the Edinburgh side leading of the league and eight points clear of their rivals, was earth-shattering in scale, nobody who has been following the progress of either squad this campaign will have been even remotely shocked by the final score.

Over the past four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish league between them, reducing the beautiful game to almost a joke in the meantime. Several matches into the current campaign it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – might just be ready to strike while the Glasgow duo influence is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

While much of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being suffered by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at their stadium has meant that the title holders' slightly less terminal decay has been able to worsen below the radar. The defending title winners have so far dropped 10 points from nine fixtures this season under their manager. The team's boss has acquired the distant look of a man who can't stop consulting his schedule to find out how many days are left until his deal ends, and woke up this morning to learn the answer is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time at the club," he told reporters following the defeat, after they had questioned his desire for anything resembling a title fight. "So the motivation is present to attempt to flip the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the dreadful beginning to the campaign being experienced by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his men could typically be expected to escape scrutiny for their own inability to start strongly, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has joined the mix. Despite being obliged to operate with a war-chest that is not just a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the investment and expertise of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership equation. As well as investing ten million pounds during the summer, the Brighton owner has provided Hearts exclusive use of his highly confidential analytics-based Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to unearth unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at their home venue on matchday wearing a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be seen celebrating each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had almost certainly noticed the oddsmakers had greatly underestimated his side's chances of beating the out-of-sorts champions, and placed large bets accordingly.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his team's most recent victory, their eighth win in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for those on the periphery. It could alter opinions. It might validate views that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the players have provided us. In terms of skill, we appear in a good place, and certainly in fitness we seem in a good place, so we hope it persists. Of course, it's not a position that the team is accustomed to being in." No, Derek, it isn't. But the wonderful, data-driven truth is that for the initial occasion in ages, the Scottish game might genuinely have a title race that somebody other than Celtic or Rangers can claim.