🔗 Share this article

HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the only unexpected aspect of Hearts' victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which surprised people seemed when reports of the outcome and its consequences for the summit of the table emerged. Although this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Jambos leading of the league and eight points ahead of Celtic, was earth-shattering in scale, nobody who has been following the progress of either squad this campaign will have been in the least shocked by the final score.

For each of the last 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish league between them, reducing fitba to almost a joke in the meantime. Nine games into the present season it has become apparent that Hearts – who number Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their famous supporters – might just be prepared to make their move while the Glasgow duo influence is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

While much of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being suffered by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at Ibrox has meant that Celtic's comparatively less severe decline has been able to worsen unnoticed. The reigning champions have so far dropped 10 points from their opening nine league games this term under their manager. The Celtic manager has developed the distant look of a individual who constantly checking his Google calendar to see how many time are left until his deal ends, and woke up this day to learn the answer 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 doubted his appetite for anything resembling a title fight. "So the motivation is there to try and flip the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the horrific beginning to the season being endured by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his men could normally be expected to escape scrutiny for their own failure to roar out of the traps, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the mix. Despite being obliged to operate with a war-chest that is not just a small portion of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have added the money and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the SPL mix. As well as investing £10m during the off-season, the Brighton owner has granted the club sole use of his highly confidential data-driven Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to unearth unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a modest car. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday wearing a club colours, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be seen cheering each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had almost certainly realized the oddsmakers had massively underestimated his side's prospects of defeating the struggling champions, and placed large bets as a result.

COACH'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a statement win," said the facial-haired team manager the head coach after his team's most recent victory, their eighth 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 let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the players have given us. In terms of skill, we appear in a strong position, and certainly physically we seem in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Of course, this is not a situation that the team is accustomed to being in." No, Derek, it is not. But the glorious, data-driven reality is that for the first time in ages, Scottish football might actually have a title race that somebody other than the traditional powers can claim.