🔗 Share this article

HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the only surprising aspect of Hearts' triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how taken aback people seemed when news of the outcome and its impact for the summit of the standings emerged. Although this 3-1 win at their home ground, which leaves the Jambos leading of the table and eight points clear of Celtic, was seismic in scale, no one who has been tracking the progress of both squad this campaign will have been in the least shocked by the result.

For each of the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to almost a punchline in the meantime. Several matches into the current season it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who number celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their famous supporters – might just be prepared to make their move while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

Although much of the focus in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being endured by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at Ibrox has meant that the title holders' slightly less terminal decay has been allowed to fester below the radar. The defending title winners have already dropped 10 points from nine league games this term under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a man who constantly checking his Google calendar to see how many days are remaining until his deal expires, and awoke this morning to learn the number is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure here," he told reporters following the loss, after they had questioned his desire for anything resembling a title fight. "So the motivation is there to attempt to flip the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the dreadful start to the campaign being endured by Rangers, Rodgers and his men could typically be anticipated to get away with their own inability to start strongly, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the mix. In spite of being obliged to function with a war-chest that is not just a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have added the money and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the SPL mix. In addition to investing £10m during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has provided the club exclusive use of his highly confidential analytics-based proprietary scouting player identification system.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to unearth unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a modest car. Spotted at Tynecastle on Sunday sporting a club colours, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be observed celebrating each score with the gusto of a man who had almost certainly noticed the oddsmakers had massively misjudged his side's prospects of beating the struggling title holders, and filled his boots accordingly.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a statement win," said the facial-haired team manager the head coach after his side's most recent success, their eighth in nine outings. "It might be for those on the periphery. It could alter opinions. It might validate views that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the players have given us. Technically, we appear in a strong position, and certainly physically we look in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Of course, it's not a position that the team is used to being in." No, the manager, it isn't. But the wonderful, data-driven reality is that for the initial occasion in ages, Scottish football might actually have a championship battle that a team besides Celtic or Rangers can win.