🔗 Share this article

HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the only surprising aspect of Heart of Midlothian's victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which taken aback observers seemed when news of the outcome and its consequences for the top of the standings circulated. Although this convincing victory at their home ground, which puts the Jambos leading of the table and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was earth-shattering in nature, no one who has been following the fortunes of both team this season will have been even remotely shocked by the result.

Over the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish league between them, turning the beautiful game to almost a punchline in the meantime. Several matches into the current season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their famous supporters – could be ready to make their move while the Old Firm influence is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

While much of the attention in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being endured by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at their stadium has meant that the title holders' slightly less terminal decline has been allowed to fester unnoticed. The defending title winners have so far lost 10 points from nine fixtures this term under their manager. The Celtic manager has acquired the distant look of a individual who constantly checking his schedule to see how many time 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 my entire tenure at the club," he told the media following the loss, after they had doubted his appetite for any kind of a title fight. "So the motivation is present to attempt to flip the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the horrific start to the campaign being endured by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his men could normally be expected to escape scrutiny for their own inability to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has entered the fray. In spite of being forced to operate with a budget that isn't so much a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have added the investment and expertise of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership equation. In addition to putting in £10m during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has granted Hearts exclusive use of his highly confidential data-driven proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to discover unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a modest car. Spotted at their home venue on Sunday wearing a club colours, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be observed celebrating each goal with the gusto of a man who had almost certainly noticed the oddsmakers had greatly misjudged his team's prospects of defeating the struggling title holders, and filled his boots accordingly.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer the head coach after his team's latest success, their eighth win in nine league matches. "It might be for others on the outside looking in. It could alter opinions. It might validate opinions that there's a fine line. 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 certainly physically we look in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Of course, this is not a situation that this club is accustomed to being in." Correct, the manager, it isn't. But the glorious, data-driven truth is that for the initial occasion in many years, the Scottish game might genuinely have a championship battle that somebody other than the traditional powers can win.