Why Hearts' title credentials deserve to be taken seriously as Celtic, Hibs and others trail

Car horns beeping along Gorgie Road late on Sunday afternoon suggested something significant was occurring.

- by Barry Anderson

Merely yards away inside a throbbing Tynecastle Park, Hearts had just made Celtic look like a clapped out old Lada, never mind a Honda Civic. Supporters sang on the street, vehicles slowed for drivers to toot their approval, and local hostelries were bustling. Unthinkable just a couple of months ago, there is now an eight-point gap atop the William Hill Scottish Premiership - and Hearts are the pacesetters.