Perhaps the only surprising element of Hearts' victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was just how surprised observers appeared when news of the result and its consequences for the top of the standings circulated. Although this 3-1 win at their home ground, which leaves the Jambos leading of the table and eight points clear of Celtic, was seismic in nature, no one who has been following the fortunes of both squad this season will have been in the least shocked by the final score.
Over the last four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to almost a joke in the meantime. Several matches into the present season it has become clear that Hearts – who count celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – might just be ready to strike while the Old Firm influence is at its weakest.
While much of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at Ibrox has meant that the title holders' slightly less terminal decay has been able to worsen below the radar. The reigning champions have already dropped a considerable number from nine fixtures this season under their manager. The team's boss has acquired the distant look of a individual who can't stop consulting his schedule to see how many days are left until his deal expires, and awoke this day to discover the number is over two hundred.
"No one has put in more effort in all my time at the club," he told reporters following the defeat, after they had doubted his desire for any kind of a championship battle. "So the motivation is present to attempt to reverse the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."
Considering the horrific start to the campaign being experienced by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his men could normally be expected to escape scrutiny for their own inability to start strongly, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the mix. In spite of being forced 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 added the investment and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the SPL equation. As well as putting in ten million pounds during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has provided the club exclusive use of his highly confidential data-driven proprietary scouting recruitment tool.
In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to unearth hidden talents 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. Spotted at Tynecastle on Sunday sporting a club colours, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be seen celebrating each goal with the gusto of a person who had likely realized the oddsmakers had greatly underestimated his team's chances of defeating the struggling champions, and placed large bets as a result.
"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer the head coach after his team's latest victory, their eighth in nine outings. "It might be for others on the outside looking in. It could alter opinions. It may confirm views that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the players have given us. Technically, we appear in a good place, and definitely physically we seem in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Naturally, it's not a position that this club is accustomed to being in." Correct, the manager, it isn't. But the wonderful, data-driven truth is that for the first time in ages, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that somebody other than the traditional powers can win.
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