🔗 Share this article

JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the only surprising element of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which surprised observers appeared when news of the outcome and its consequences for the summit of the table emerged. While this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which leaves the Jambos top of the league and a significant margin clear of their rivals, was earth-shattering in nature, no one who has been tracking the fortunes of both team this season will have been in the least shocked by the final score.

For each of the last four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish league between them, turning fitba to something of a joke in the meantime. Nine games into the present season it has become clear that Hearts – who count celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – could be ready to strike while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

Although a lot of the focus in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being endured by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the situation at Ibrox has meant that Celtic's comparatively less severe decline has been able to fester below the radar. The reigning champions have already lost a considerable number from their opening nine fixtures this term under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has acquired the distant look of a man who can't stop consulting his schedule to see how many time are left until his contract expires, and woke up this day to discover the number is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in all my time here," he told reporters following the defeat, after they had questioned his desire for any kind of a championship battle. "So the motivation is present to attempt to reverse the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the horrific start to the campaign being endured by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his men could typically be anticipated to get away with their own inability to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the mix. In spite of being forced to operate with a war-chest that isn't so much a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have introduced the money and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the SPL mix. As well as putting in £10m during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has granted Hearts exclusive use of his highly confidential data-driven proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to unearth unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday wearing a club colours, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be observed celebrating each score with the gusto of a person who had almost certainly realized the bookies had greatly misjudged his side's chances of defeating the out-of-sorts title holders, and placed large bets accordingly.

COACH'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said bearded Hearts gaffer the head coach after his team's most recent victory, their eighth in nine league matches. "It might be for those on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It may confirm views that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the players have provided us. In terms of skill, we appear in a good place, and certainly in fitness we seem in a good place, so we hope it persists. Naturally, this is not a situation that the team is accustomed to being in." Correct, the manager, it isn't. But the wonderful, analytics-backed truth is that for the initial occasion in many years, the Scottish game might actually have a championship battle that somebody other than the traditional powers can claim.