🔗 Share this article

HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the sole surprising aspect of Hearts' triumph over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was just how surprised people seemed when news of the result and its impact for the top of the standings circulated. Although this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Edinburgh side leading of the league and eight points ahead of Celtic, was seismic in nature, nobody who has been tracking the progress of either squad this campaign will have been in the least astonished by the final score.

For each of the last 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish league between them, turning the beautiful game to something of a joke in the process. Nine games into the present season it has become apparent that Hearts – who count Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their famous supporters – might just be ready to strike while the Glasgow duo iron is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

While a lot of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the situation at Ibrox has meant that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been able to fester unnoticed. The defending title winners have so far lost a considerable number from their opening nine fixtures this season under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has developed the distant look of a individual who constantly consulting his schedule to find out how many time are left until his deal expires, and woke up this morning to learn the answer is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in all my time here," he told reporters following the loss, after they had questioned his desire for any kind of a championship battle. "So the motivation is there to attempt to reverse the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the dreadful start to the season being experienced by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his men could typically be expected to get away with their own inability to roar out of the traps, but this year an capital city challenger has joined the fray. Despite being obliged to operate with a budget that is not just a small portion of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have added the money and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership mix. As well as investing £10m during the summer, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts sole use of his highly confidential data-driven proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to unearth unpolished gems from Walsall, 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 wearing a club colours, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be seen celebrating each score with the enthusiasm of a person who had almost certainly noticed the oddsmakers had massively misjudged his team's prospects of beating the struggling champions, and placed large bets as a result.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a statement win," said bearded team manager Derek McInnes after his team's most recent success, their eighth in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for others on the periphery. It might change opinions. It might validate opinions that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the players have given us. Technically, we look in a good place, and definitely in fitness we seem in a good place, so long may that continue. 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 truth is that for the initial occasion in many years, Scottish football might genuinely have a championship battle that a team other than Celtic or Rangers can win.