🔗 Share this article

HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the only surprising aspect of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which surprised observers seemed when reports of the outcome and its impact for the summit of the table circulated. While this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which puts the Jambos leading of the league and eight points clear of their rivals, was seismic in nature, nobody who has been following the progress of both squad this campaign will have been even remotely astonished by the final score.

For each of the past four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish league between them, turning the beautiful game to something of a punchline in the process. Several matches into the current season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – 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' SLUMP

Although a lot 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 circumstances at Ibrox has resulted in that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been able to worsen below the radar. The defending title winners have so far dropped 10 points from nine league games this season under their manager. The team's boss has developed the thousand-yard stare of a man who can't stop checking his Google calendar to find out how many days are remaining until his contract ends, and woke up this morning to learn the answer is 246.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure here," he informed reporters following the defeat, after they had doubted his desire for anything resembling a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is present to attempt to reverse the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the horrific beginning to the campaign being experienced by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his men could typically be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own failure to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has joined the fray. Despite being forced to function with a budget that is not just a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have introduced the investment and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the SPL equation. In addition to putting in ten million pounds during the summer, the Brighton owner has provided Hearts exclusive use of his top secret analytics-based proprietary scouting player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to discover hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday wearing a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be seen celebrating each goal with the gusto of a man who had likely realized the oddsmakers had massively underestimated his team's chances of defeating the out-of-sorts champions, and filled his boots as a result.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said bearded team manager the head coach after his team's most recent victory, their eighth win in nine league matches. "It might be for those on the periphery. It could alter perceptions. It may confirm views that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the players have provided us. Technically, we look in a good place, and definitely in fitness we look in a good place, so long may that continue. Of course, this is not a situation that the team is used to being in." No, the manager, it is not. But the wonderful, analytics-backed truth is that for the first time in ages, Scottish football might actually have a title race that somebody besides Celtic or Rangers can claim.