Perhaps the sole surprising element of Heart of Midlothian's victory over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which surprised people appeared when news of the outcome and its consequences for the top of the table emerged. While this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which leaves the Jambos leading of the table and a significant margin ahead of their rivals, was earth-shattering in nature, nobody who has been tracking the progress of both squad this season will have been even remotely astonished by the final score.
For each of the last 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish league between them, turning the beautiful game to something of a punchline in the process. Nine games into the present season it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who number celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – could be prepared to make their move while the Old Firm iron is at its weakest.
While much of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being endured by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at their stadium has resulted in that the title holders' slightly less terminal decay has been able to fester unnoticed. The defending title winners have already dropped 10 points from their opening nine fixtures this season under their manager. The Celtic manager has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a man who constantly checking his schedule to see how many time are remaining until his contract ends, and woke up this day to discover the answer is 246.
"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure at the club," he informed the media following the loss, after they had questioned his desire for anything resembling a title fight. "Therefore the drive is present to try and reverse the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."
Considering the horrific start to the season being endured by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his men could typically be expected to get away with their own inability to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has joined the fray. In spite of being obliged to function with a budget that isn't so much a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have introduced the money and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership equation. In addition to investing £10m during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has provided Hearts sole use of his highly confidential data-driven Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.
In an Irish defender, a Greek talent 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 lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at their home venue on matchday wearing a club colours, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be seen celebrating each goal with the gusto of a person who had almost certainly realized the oddsmakers had greatly misjudged his side's prospects of beating the struggling champions, and placed large bets accordingly.
"I don't think it's a statement win," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his team's most recent victory, their eighth in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for those on the outside looking in. 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 provided us. In terms of skill, we appear in a strong position, and certainly in fitness we look in a good place, so we hope it persists. Of course, this is not a situation that this club is used to being in." No, Derek, it isn't. But the wonderful, data-driven reality is that for the initial occasion in ages, Scottish football might actually have a title race that a team other than the traditional powers can win.
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