🔗 Share this article

HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the only surprising element of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how surprised observers seemed when reports of the result and its consequences for the top of the table circulated. While this convincing victory at their home ground, which leaves the Jambos leading of the table and eight points clear of their rivals, was seismic in scale, no one who has been tracking the progress of both squad this season will have been even remotely astonished by the final score.

Over the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish football between them, turning fitba to something of a joke in the process. Several matches into the present campaign it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who number celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – might just be prepared to strike while the Old Firm iron is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

While much of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being endured by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at their stadium has resulted in that Celtic's comparatively less severe decline has been able to worsen below the radar. The reigning champions have so far lost 10 points from nine fixtures this season under their manager. The Celtic manager has developed the thousand-yard stare of a individual who can't stop consulting his Google calendar to find out how many days are remaining until his contract ends, and awoke this morning to learn the answer is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time here," he informed the media following the defeat, after they had questioned his desire for any kind of a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is there to attempt to reverse the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the dreadful start to the campaign being experienced by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his players could typically be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own inability to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has entered the mix. In spite of being obliged to operate with a budget that isn't so much a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have added the money and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the SPL mix. As well as putting in £10m during the summer, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts exclusive use of his highly confidential analytics-based proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to unearth hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at their home venue on matchday sporting a club colours, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be seen celebrating each goal with the enthusiasm of a man who had likely noticed the bookies had massively misjudged his team's prospects of defeating the struggling champions, and placed large bets as a result.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said bearded team manager Derek McInnes after his team's most recent success, their eighth in nine outings. "It might be for others on the outside looking in. It might change opinions. It might validate opinions that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the lads have provided us. In terms of skill, we appear in a strong position, and definitely in fitness we look in a good place, so we hope it persists. Of course, this is not a situation that the team is accustomed to being in." No, the manager, it is not. But the glorious, data-driven truth is that for the initial occasion in many years, the Scottish game might genuinely have a championship battle that a team besides the traditional powers can win.