A Premiership form table has been doing the rounds, one that charts the progress of Hearts since Neil Critchley took over as manager in the autumn.
For long enough, it hinted at gradual progress, much of it under the radar due to an awful start to the season and a league position that would take time to rectify.
Now, there can be no doubt as to Critchley’s impact, underlined by a stunning 6-0 victory over Dundee on Saturday, as complete a performance as any top-flight team has produced this season.
Since Critchley succeeded Steven Naismith on October 15, Hearts have secured 28 points from 17 games, making them the third-best team in the Premiership over that period.
With Hibs just behind them in the form table, it has been a remarkable turnaround for the two Edinburgh clubs, who spent the first half of the campaign in a relegation scrap.
Now both look set to finish in the top six, possibly even in a European place, as a bewilderingly tight Premiership table confounds pundits who had looked only at league positions.
Neil Critchley applauds the Hearts support after his team’s 6-0 win at Dens Park on Saturday.
Elton Kabangu points the way ahead after scoring the second of his two goals against Dundee
Lawrence Shankland nets the first goal in Hearts’ biggest top-flight away win since 1988
Less than two months ago, Andrew McKinlay, Hearts’ chief executive, raised eyebrows when he predicted not only that his club would lift themselves off the bottom, but that they would finish in the top half.
Sure enough, Hearts are now in seventh spot, closer to third place than to 12th, thanks in part to the concertina effect that so often squeezes the Premiership table when pressure is applied.
As seasons approach their business end, at least one relegation-threatened team usually pulls away and the battle to survive becomes so desperate that coupon-busting results follow.
This year, it has happened a little earlier. While Aberdeen and Motherwell have lost their focus after unexpectedly strong starts, those in the bottom half have recognised the gravity of their predicaments.
Bottom side St Johnstone got their third consecutive win when they beat St Mirren 1-0 in Paisley on Saturday. Then Kilmarnock, suddenly seeing the Perth club in their rear-view mirror, overcame Dundee United by the same scoreline at Rugby Park. Ross County lost 4-0 at Ibrox, but their away record, previously a major weakness, has improved.
Some clubs change their manager, which can contribute to a season of two halves. After a poor start under Craig Levein, St Johnstone appointed Simo Valakari, who needed a while to settle in.
The same is true of Critchley, who finally has time on the training ground after juggling domestic commitments with European group stage football.
Campaigns can also hinge on the January transfer window, which is an opportunity for struggling clubs to change the narrative. More so than most, Hearts have the resources to strengthen their squad, at a time when those above them don’t feel quite the same need.
Critchley’s starting XI on Saturday included just three of those who kicked off in Hearts’ 3-1 defeat at Dens Park in August. With the help of new partners Jamestown Analytics, he is overhauling a pool of players whose ability was overestimated.
Defender Michael Steinwender and attacking midfielder Sander Kartum are just in the door, but Jamie McCart has settled in nicely at the back, Lewis Neilson has returned from a loan spell with St Johnstone and Elton Kabangu has wasted no time in becoming a fans’ favourite during the side’s seven-game unbeaten run.
The Belgian striker, on loan from Union Saint-Gilloise, has scored five goals in three matches, two of them in the second half on Saturday. The first was calmly converted after a lightning run that exposed Dundee’s high defensive line. The second was the crisp finish of a player with sharp instincts.
More than that, Kabangu’s game — stretching the defence and playing on the last man — seems to complement that of Lawrence Shankland, who drops a little deeper. This season has been a struggle for the Hearts captain, but he was more like his old self at Dens, scoring the opener in Hearts’ biggest away win in the top flight since 1988.
They call Kabangu the Rocket Man, on account of his shared Christian name with a singer you may have heard of. It has taken a while, but Hearts finally seem to have lift-off.
