🔗 Share this article

JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the sole unexpected element of Hearts' victory over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was just how surprised people seemed when news of the outcome and its impact for the top of the standings emerged. While this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which puts the Jambos leading of the table and eight points ahead of their rivals, was earth-shattering in scale, nobody who has been tracking the fortunes of either squad this campaign will have been even remotely shocked by the result.

For each of the past 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to almost a joke in the meantime. Nine games into the current season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who number celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – might just be prepared to make their move while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

While a lot of the attention in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being endured by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at their stadium has resulted in that the title holders' slightly less terminal decay has been allowed to fester below the radar. The reigning champions have already dropped 10 points from their opening nine fixtures this season under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has developed the thousand-yard stare of a individual who can't stop consulting his schedule to see how many time are left until his contract ends, and awoke this day to discover the answer is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure at the club," he informed the media following the loss, after they had questioned his appetite for anything resembling a title fight. "Therefore the drive is present to attempt to reverse the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the horrific start to the campaign being endured by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his men could typically be expected to escape scrutiny for their own failure to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the fray. In spite of being obliged to operate with a budget that is not just a small portion of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have introduced the money and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership equation. In addition to putting in £10m during the off-season, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts sole use of his highly confidential analytics-based Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to discover hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at Tynecastle on Sunday sporting a club colours, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be seen cheering each score with the enthusiasm of a person who had almost certainly realized the bookies had greatly underestimated his team's chances of beating the out-of-sorts title holders, and placed large bets accordingly.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said the facial-haired team manager the head coach after his side's latest success, their eighth win in nine outings. "It might be for those on the periphery. It might change opinions. It might validate opinions that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have provided us. In terms of skill, we appear in a good place, and definitely in fitness we look in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Naturally, it's not a position that this club is accustomed to being in." No, Derek, it is not. But the glorious, analytics-backed reality is that for the first time in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that a team other than Celtic or Rangers can win.