🔗 Share this article

HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the only surprising aspect of Hearts' triumph over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was just how taken aback observers appeared when reports of the result and its impact for the top of the standings circulated. While this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which puts the Edinburgh side leading of the league and a significant margin clear of their rivals, was earth-shattering in nature, no one who has been tracking the fortunes of either squad this season will have been in the least shocked by the final score.

Over the past four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish league between them, turning the beautiful game to almost a punchline in the meantime. Nine games into the current campaign it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who count celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – might just be ready to strike while the Old Firm influence is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

Although a lot of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at Ibrox has resulted in that the title holders' slightly less terminal decay has been allowed to fester below the radar. The reigning champions have so far dropped a considerable number from nine league games this season under their manager. The team's boss has acquired the distant look of a individual who constantly consulting his schedule to find out how many days are left 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 informed reporters following the loss, after they had doubted his appetite for anything resembling a championship battle. "So the motivation is there to try and reverse the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the dreadful start to the campaign being endured by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his men could typically be anticipated to get away with their own inability to start strongly, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has joined the mix. Despite being forced to function with a budget that isn't so much a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have introduced the money and expertise of Tony Bloom to the SPL mix. In addition to investing ten million pounds during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has provided the club exclusive use of his highly confidential data-driven proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect 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 lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at Tynecastle on matchday wearing a club colours, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be observed celebrating each score with the gusto of a person who had likely realized the bookies had massively underestimated his team's chances of defeating the out-of-sorts champions, and placed large bets as a result.

COACH'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a statement win," said the facial-haired team manager the head coach after his team's most recent victory, their eighth in nine outings. "It might be for others on the periphery. It might change opinions. It may confirm opinions that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the players have given us. Technically, we look in a strong position, and definitely physically we seem in a good place, so we hope it persists. Naturally, it's not a position that the team is used to being in." No, Derek, it is not. But the glorious, data-driven truth is that for the first time in many years, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that somebody besides the traditional powers can claim.