🔗 Share this article

HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the only surprising aspect of Heart of Midlothian's victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was just how surprised people seemed when news of the result and its consequences for the top of the standings emerged. Although this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which leaves the Jambos top of the league and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was seismic in scale, no one who has been tracking the fortunes of both team this campaign will have been in the least astonished by the result.

Over the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish league between them, reducing the beautiful game to almost a joke in the process. Several matches into the current campaign it has become apparent that Hearts – who count Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – might just be ready to make their move while the Old Firm iron is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

Although much of the focus in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the situation at Ibrox has meant that the title holders' slightly less terminal decline has been able to fester below the radar. The defending title winners have so far dropped a considerable number from nine fixtures this term under their manager. The team's boss has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a individual who constantly consulting his Google calendar to see how many time are left until his contract expires, and awoke this morning to learn the answer is 246.

"I've never worked harder in all my time here," he informed the media following the defeat, after they had questioned his desire for anything resembling a title fight. "So the motivation is there to try and reverse the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the horrific start to the season being experienced by Rangers, Rodgers and his players could typically be anticipated to get away with their own inability to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has entered the fray. 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, Hearts have added the investment and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the SPL mix. As well as investing ten million pounds during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has granted the club exclusive use of his highly confidential analytics-based proprietary scouting player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to discover unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a modest car. Spotted at Tynecastle on Sunday wearing a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be observed cheering each goal with the gusto of a man who had almost certainly noticed the bookies had massively misjudged his side's prospects of defeating the struggling title holders, and filled his boots as a result.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired team manager the head coach after his team's latest victory, their eighth in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for those on the outside looking in. It might change perceptions. It might validate opinions that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the lads have given us. Technically, we look in a good place, and definitely in fitness we look in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Of course, it's not a position that this club is accustomed to being in." Correct, Derek, it is not. But the wonderful, data-driven truth 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 win.