🔗 Share this article

HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the sole surprising element of Hearts' triumph over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was just how surprised people appeared when news of the outcome and its impact for the summit of the standings circulated. While this 3-1 win at their home ground, which leaves the Edinburgh side leading of the table and eight points clear of Celtic, was earth-shattering in scale, no one who has been following the fortunes of both squad this campaign will have been in the least shocked by the final score.

Over the past 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish football between them, reducing the beautiful game to something of a joke in the process. Nine games into the present campaign it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – could be prepared to make their move while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

While much of the focus in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at Ibrox has meant that the title holders' slightly less terminal decline has been able to worsen unnoticed. The defending title winners have already lost 10 points from nine league games this season under their manager. The team's boss has acquired the distant look of a individual who can't stop checking his Google calendar to see how many time are left until his deal ends, and woke up this morning to learn the number is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time at the club," he told the media following the loss, after they had questioned his desire for anything resembling a title fight. "Therefore the drive is there to attempt to reverse the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the dreadful start to the season being experienced by Rangers, Rodgers and his men could normally be expected to get away with their own inability to roar out of the traps, but this year an capital city challenger has entered the mix. Despite being obliged to function with a war-chest that isn't so much a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the investment and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership equation. As well as putting in ten million pounds during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has provided Hearts exclusive use of his top secret data-driven proprietary scouting player identification system.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to unearth 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 their home venue on Sunday wearing a club colours, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be observed celebrating each goal with the enthusiasm of a man who had likely realized the bookies had massively underestimated his team's prospects of defeating the struggling champions, and filled his boots accordingly.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said bearded Hearts gaffer the head coach after his team's most recent success, their eighth in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for others on the periphery. It could alter perceptions. It may confirm opinions that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have given us. In terms of skill, we look in a strong position, and certainly physically we look in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Naturally, it's not a position that the team is used to being in." Correct, the manager, it isn't. But the wonderful, data-driven truth is that for the first time in ages, the Scottish game might genuinely have a title race that a team other than the traditional powers can claim.