🔗 Share this article

HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the sole surprising element of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how taken aback people seemed when reports of the outcome and its consequences for the top of the standings emerged. While this convincing victory at their home ground, which leaves the Jambos leading of the league and a significant margin clear of their rivals, was seismic in nature, nobody who has been following the fortunes of both team this season will have been in the least astonished by the result.

For each of the last 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish football between them, reducing fitba to something of a joke in the meantime. Several matches into the present season it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who number Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – could be prepared to make their move while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

Although a lot of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being suffered by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at Ibrox has meant that the title holders' slightly less terminal decay has been allowed to fester below the radar. The defending title winners have already lost a considerable number from nine league games this term under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has developed the thousand-yard stare of a man who constantly consulting his schedule to see how many days are remaining until his deal ends, and woke up this day to learn the answer is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure at the club," he told the media following the defeat, after they had doubted his desire for any kind of a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is there to attempt to flip the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the dreadful start to the season being experienced by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his men could typically be expected to escape scrutiny for their own inability to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has joined the mix. Despite being obliged to function with a war-chest that isn't so much a small portion of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have added the investment and expertise of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership mix. As well as investing ten million pounds during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has provided Hearts sole use of his top secret data-driven Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to unearth hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a modest car. Spotted at Tynecastle on matchday sporting a club colours, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be seen cheering each goal with the gusto of a person who had likely noticed the oddsmakers had greatly misjudged his team's prospects of beating the struggling champions, and filled his boots accordingly.

COACH'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a statement win," said the facial-haired team manager the head coach after his team's most recent victory, their eighth in nine outings. "It might be for others on the periphery. It might change opinions. It may confirm opinions 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 look in a strong position, and definitely in fitness we look in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Naturally, this is not a situation that this club is used to being in." No, Derek, it isn't. But the wonderful, analytics-backed reality is that for the first time in many years, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that somebody besides Celtic or Rangers can claim.