🔗 Share this article

HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the only unexpected element of Heart of Midlothian's victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was just how taken aback observers seemed when news of the outcome and its consequences for the top of the table circulated. Although this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which puts the Edinburgh side leading of the table and eight points ahead of their rivals, was earth-shattering in scale, nobody who has been tracking the fortunes of both team this season will have been even remotely astonished by the final score.

Over the past 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish league between them, turning the beautiful game to almost a punchline in the meantime. Nine games into the present season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who number Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – could be prepared to make their move while the Old Firm influence is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

While much of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at their stadium has meant that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been able to worsen below the radar. The defending title winners have so far dropped a considerable number from nine league games this term under their manager. The team's boss has developed the thousand-yard stare of a individual who can't stop checking his schedule to find out how many days are remaining until his contract expires, and woke up this morning to discover the answer is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time here," he informed the media following the loss, after they had questioned his desire for anything resembling a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is there to try and reverse the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the horrific start to the season being endured by Rangers, Rodgers and his players could typically be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own failure to start strongly, but this year an capital city challenger has joined the fray. In spite of being forced to function with a budget that is not just a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have added the money and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the SPL mix. In addition to investing ten million pounds during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has granted the club exclusive use of his highly confidential analytics-based Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has allowed 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 modest car. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday sporting a club colours, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be observed celebrating each goal with the gusto of a person who had almost certainly noticed the bookies had massively misjudged his team's chances of beating the out-of-sorts title holders, and filled his boots as a result.

COACH'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a statement win," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer the head coach after his team's most recent victory, their eighth win in nine outings. "It might be for those on the periphery. It could alter opinions. It might validate opinions that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have given us. Technically, we look in a strong position, and certainly in fitness we seem in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Of course, it's not a position that this club is used to being in." No, the manager, it isn't. But the wonderful, analytics-backed reality is that for the initial occasion in many years, Scottish football might actually have a title race that somebody other than the traditional powers can win.