🔗 Share this article

HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the only unexpected element of Heart of Midlothian's victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how surprised observers appeared when reports of the result and its consequences for the top of the table emerged. While this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Edinburgh side top of the table and eight points ahead of their rivals, was seismic in scale, nobody who has been following the progress of both squad this campaign will have been in the least astonished by the result.

For each of the last 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish football between them, turning fitba to almost a joke in the process. Nine games into the current season it has become clear that Hearts – who number Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – could be ready to make their move while the Old Firm influence is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

Although a lot of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at their stadium has resulted in that the title holders' slightly less terminal decline has been allowed to worsen unnoticed. The reigning champions have already dropped a considerable number from their opening nine fixtures this season under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has acquired the distant look of a individual who can't stop checking his Google calendar to see how many time are remaining until his contract expires, and woke up this day to learn the number is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure here," he told reporters following the defeat, after they had doubted his desire for any kind of a championship battle. "So the motivation is there to attempt to flip the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the dreadful beginning to the campaign being endured by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his players could normally be anticipated to get away with their own inability to start strongly, but this year an capital city challenger has joined the fray. Despite being obliged to operate with a budget that isn't so much a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the money and expertise of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership equation. In addition to investing ten million pounds during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has granted the club sole use of his top secret data-driven proprietary scouting player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to discover unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a modest car. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday wearing a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be observed celebrating each score with the gusto of a person who had almost certainly realized the bookies had massively underestimated his team's chances of defeating the struggling champions, and filled his boots as a result.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a statement win," said bearded Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his side's latest victory, their eighth in nine league matches. "It might be for others on the outside looking in. It could alter perceptions. It might validate views that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the players have provided us. In terms of skill, we appear in a strong position, and definitely in fitness we look in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Of course, this is not a situation that the team is accustomed to being in." No, Derek, it is not. But the wonderful, analytics-backed truth is that for the initial occasion in many years, the Scottish game might actually have a championship battle that somebody other than the traditional powers can claim.