'Wide right? You mad?' - the Hearts change that speaks to Jamestown approach

Harry Milne arrived at Tynecastle as an understudy left-back from the Scottish Championship. Now he's driving Hearts forward as a dynamic right-sided attacker.

Hearts roared to the top of the Premiership on Saturday with a dominant 3-0 win over Falkirk to maintain their unbeaten start to the season, a game where left-back Milne lined up on the right side of midfield.

Head coach Derek McInnes spoke pre-match about his side's lack of options for that position, but said Milne had impressed when dropped into the new role in their recent 2-0 win over Rangers at Ibrox.

In Milne, league leaders Hearts are exemplifying what new minority owner Tony Bloom and his analytics company Jamestown Analytics have done to great effect elsewhere - turning unlikely players into all-round talents.

James Penrice was one of the most talked about talents in the Scottish game at the time the unheralded Milne arrived as his deputy in early part of this year.

Many thought Penrice had nailed down the position for the season to come and that the 26-year-old former Livingston defender was now a mainstay in the side.

But in the summer window, he completed a "life-changing move" to Greek side AEK Athens, which raised a few eyebrows. Why were Hearts letting him go?

Selling a player when their stock is high, after what may be viewed as a purple patch, is the underlying principle of Bloom's data-driven approach: maximise gains, reinvest in the squad and, crucially, always have the replacement in the building.

Milne was ready to step in and seize his opportunity.

The former Partick Thistle full-back showed all the endeavour and tenacity needed to seamlessly replace Penrice, and his direct, pacey style of play made him the ideal candidate to plug a right-sided gap in the Hearts side in recent weeks.

McInnes himself admits there was some shock when he named Milne as the right-sided attack for their league trip to Ibrox.

"Harry was fine with it," the head coach said., external "Maybe it looked a bit unusual.

"My son said to me when he saw the team written out on the couch on Thursday night: 'Harry Milne wide right? You mad?

"I spoke to Harry about it. He played there a lot when he was younger."

Speaking to BBC Radio Sussex in the summer about his approach to numbers in football, Bloom said: "We think data is really important in all high-level sport, so it is important to have somebody as a head coach who understands that."

It's clear that McInnes is buying into what the analytics can offer at Tynecastle.

In Hearts' trip to Ibrox in mid-September, Milne started the game in a wide right position. Unorthodox for a left-footed defender, but his performance was exemplary, as it was against Falkirk.

"We don't have a lot of options at wide right and Harry's shown a capability to do that," McInnes said prior to Saturday's game.

"I think he can do that again, and he actually really enjoyed it."

He looked like Milne certainly enjoyed it again as he shone for a side packed with attacking impetus across the pitch.

He created four chances against Falkirk, played 13 passes into the final third, and crossed the ball five times.

All of these numbers were only bettered by Alexandros Kyziridis, who is a natural left-winger. Milne was perfectly comfortable in his new role.

He popped up in the first half to narrowly head past a post, too, evidence of his attacking instincts.

Hearts' league-winning credentials will undoubtedly be tested in the weeks to come.

They have an Edinburgh derby before the international break and then travel to face McInnes' former side Killie, with current champions Celtic then coming to Gorgie.

But if they rest of the squad can show the hunger and adaptability of Milne, they can continue to look upward.