🔗 Share this article

HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the sole surprising element of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was just how surprised observers seemed when reports of the result and its impact for the top of the table circulated. Although this 3-1 win at their home ground, which leaves the Jambos leading of the league and a significant margin clear of their rivals, was earth-shattering in nature, nobody who has been tracking the fortunes of both team this season will have been even remotely shocked by the final score.

Over the last 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish league between them, turning fitba to something of a joke in the meantime. Nine games into the current campaign it has become clear that Hearts – who number celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – might just be prepared to make their move while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

While a lot of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at their stadium has meant that the title holders' slightly less terminal decline has been allowed to worsen unnoticed. The reigning champions have so far dropped 10 points from their opening nine league games this season under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has developed the distant look of a individual who can't stop checking his Google calendar to find out how many days are remaining until his deal expires, and woke up this day to discover the number is 246.

"I've never worked harder in all my time at the club," he informed the media following the loss, after they had questioned his appetite for anything resembling a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is present to try and reverse the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the horrific beginning to the campaign being endured by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his players could normally be expected to get away with their own inability to roar out of the traps, but this year an capital city challenger has entered the mix. In spite of being obliged to function with a war-chest that is not just a small portion of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have introduced the money and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the SPL mix. As well as investing £10m during the off-season, the Brighton owner has provided the club exclusive use of his highly confidential data-driven Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to discover hidden talents 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 modest car. Spotted at their home venue on Sunday sporting a club colours, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be seen celebrating each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had almost certainly realized the oddsmakers had greatly underestimated his side's prospects of beating the out-of-sorts title holders, and filled his boots as a result.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer the head coach after his side's most recent victory, their eighth win in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for those on the periphery. It might change opinions. It might validate opinions that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the players have given us. In terms of skill, we look in a good place, and definitely physically we seem in a good place, so long may that continue. Of course, it's not a position that this club is accustomed to being in." No, the manager, it is not. But the wonderful, analytics-backed truth is that for the initial occasion in ages, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that somebody other than the traditional powers can claim.