🔗 Share this article

HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the only surprising aspect of Hearts' triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how surprised people seemed when reports of the outcome and its impact for the top of the table 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 seismic in scale, no one who has been following the fortunes of both team this campaign will have been in the least astonished by the final score.

For each of the last four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish football between them, turning fitba to something of a joke in the meantime. Nine games into the present season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – might just be prepared to make their move while the Glasgow duo iron is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

Although much of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at their stadium has resulted in that Celtic's comparatively less severe decay has been able to worsen unnoticed. The defending title winners have already lost 10 points from their opening nine league games this term under their manager. The team's boss has acquired the distant look of a man who can't stop consulting his schedule to see how many time are remaining until his contract expires, and woke up this day to learn the number is 246.

"I've never worked harder in all my time at the club," he informed the media following the defeat, after they had doubted his appetite for anything resembling a championship battle. "So the motivation is there to attempt to flip the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the dreadful start to the season being experienced by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his players could normally be expected to escape scrutiny for their own failure to start strongly, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the fray. In spite of being obliged to function with a war-chest that is not just a small portion 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. As well as investing ten million pounds during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has provided the club sole use of his highly confidential analytics-based proprietary scouting player identification system.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to discover hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday sporting a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be seen celebrating each score with the enthusiasm of a man who had likely realized the bookies had massively misjudged his team's chances of defeating the out-of-sorts champions, and placed large bets as a result.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a statement win," said the facial-haired team manager Derek McInnes after his team's latest victory, their eighth win in nine outings. "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're really pleased with what the players have provided us. In terms of skill, we look in a good place, and definitely in fitness 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." Correct, Derek, it isn't. But the glorious, analytics-backed truth is that for the first time in ages, Scottish football might actually have a title race that somebody besides Celtic or Rangers can claim.