🔗 Share this article

HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the only unexpected aspect of Heart of Midlothian's victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was just how taken aback people appeared when news of the result and its impact for the summit of the table emerged. Although this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which puts the Edinburgh side top of the table and a significant margin clear of their rivals, was earth-shattering in nature, nobody who has been tracking the fortunes of both team this season will have been in the least astonished by the final score.

Over the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish league between them, turning the beautiful game to almost a joke in the meantime. Several matches into the present season it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who count celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their famous supporters – could be prepared to make their move while the Glasgow duo iron is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

Although much of the attention in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being suffered by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the situation at Ibrox has meant that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been allowed to worsen unnoticed. The reigning champions have so far lost 10 points from nine league games this season under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has acquired the distant look of a individual who can't stop consulting his schedule to find out how many time are remaining until his contract expires, and awoke this day to learn the number is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure at the club," he informed reporters following the loss, after they had questioned his appetite for any kind of a title fight. "So the motivation is present to attempt to flip the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the horrific start to the season being endured by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his men could typically be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own inability to start strongly, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has joined the fray. Despite being obliged to function with a war-chest that is not just a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have added the investment and expertise of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership mix. In addition to investing £10m during the summer, the Brighton owner has provided Hearts sole use of his top secret analytics-based proprietary scouting player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to discover hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at Tynecastle on Sunday sporting a club colours, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be observed celebrating each score with the gusto of a man who had almost certainly realized the bookies had greatly underestimated his team's chances of defeating the struggling title holders, and filled his boots accordingly.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said bearded Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his team's latest success, their eighth in nine outings. "It might be for others on the outside looking in. It could alter perceptions. It may confirm opinions that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the lads have given us. In terms of skill, we look in a strong position, and certainly physically we seem in a good place, so we hope it persists. Of course, this is not a situation that this club is accustomed to being in." Correct, the manager, it is not. But the glorious, data-driven truth is that for the first time in many years, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that somebody other than Celtic or Rangers can win.