🔗 Share this article

HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the sole unexpected element of Hearts' triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was just how surprised people appeared when reports of the outcome and its impact for the summit of the standings emerged. While this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which puts the Jambos leading of the table and a significant margin ahead of their rivals, was earth-shattering in nature, nobody who has been following the progress of both squad this campaign will have been in the least astonished by the final score.

Over the past 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to almost a punchline in the meantime. Several matches into the present campaign it has become apparent that Hearts – who number Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – could be prepared to make their move while the Glasgow duo iron is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

While much of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being suffered by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at Ibrox has resulted in that the title holders' comparatively less severe decay has been able to worsen below the radar. The reigning champions have already lost 10 points from nine league games this season under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has acquired the distant look of a individual who constantly consulting his schedule to see how many time are left until his deal ends, and woke up this morning to discover the answer is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time at the club," he told reporters following the loss, after they had questioned his desire for anything resembling a title fight. "Therefore the drive is present to attempt to flip the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the horrific beginning to the season being endured by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his men could normally be anticipated to get away with their own failure to start strongly, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the fray. In spite of being obliged to operate with a budget that isn't so much a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the investment and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership equation. In addition to investing ten million pounds during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has provided the club sole use of his top secret analytics-based proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to unearth hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a modest car. Spotted at their home venue on Sunday sporting a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be seen celebrating each score with the gusto of a man who had almost certainly realized the bookies had massively underestimated his side's prospects of beating the out-of-sorts title holders, and placed large bets as a result.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired team manager the head coach after his team's most recent victory, their eighth in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for those on the outside looking in. It might change opinions. It may confirm opinions that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the players have provided us. Technically, we look in a strong position, and certainly physically we seem in a good place, so long may that continue. Naturally, this is not a situation that the team is used to being in." No, Derek, it isn't. But the glorious, data-driven reality is that for the first time in many years, Scottish football might actually have a title race that a team other than the traditional powers can claim.