Perhaps the sole unexpected element of Hearts' victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which taken aback observers seemed when reports of the result and its consequences for the top of the standings circulated. While this convincing victory at their home ground, which leaves the Edinburgh side top of the league and eight points clear of their rivals, was seismic in nature, no one who has been following the progress of both team this campaign will have been even remotely shocked by the final score.
For each of the last 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish football between them, reducing the beautiful game to something of a joke in the process. Several matches into the present campaign it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who number Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – might just be ready to make their move while the Old Firm iron is at its weakest.
Although a lot of the focus in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being suffered by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at their stadium has meant that the title holders' slightly less terminal decline has been able to worsen unnoticed. The reigning champions have so far lost a considerable number from nine fixtures this term under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has developed the thousand-yard stare of a man who can't stop checking his Google calendar to find out how many days are remaining until his deal ends, and awoke this morning to discover the answer is 246.
"I've never worked harder in all my time here," he told reporters following the defeat, after they had doubted his appetite for anything resembling a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is present to try and flip the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."
Considering the horrific beginning to the season being endured by Rangers, Rodgers and his players could normally 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 mix. Despite being obliged to function with a war-chest that isn't so much a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have introduced the money and expertise of a renowned businessman to the SPL equation. As well as putting in ten million pounds during the summer, the Brighton owner has provided the club sole use of his highly confidential data-driven proprietary scouting player identification system.
In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to unearth unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a modest car. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday wearing a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be seen celebrating each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had likely noticed the bookies had massively misjudged his team's chances of defeating the struggling champions, and filled his boots as a result.
"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 others on the periphery. It could alter opinions. It may confirm views that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the lads have given us. Technically, we look in a good place, and definitely physically we look in a good place, so long may that continue. Naturally, it's not a position that the team is used to being in." No, Derek, it isn't. But the glorious, data-driven truth is that for the initial occasion in ages, the Scottish game might genuinely have a title race that a team besides Celtic or Rangers can claim.
