🔗 Share this article

JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the only unexpected element of Hearts' triumph over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was just how surprised people seemed when reports of the result and its consequences for the top of the table circulated. While this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which puts the Jambos top of the table and a significant margin clear of their rivals, was seismic in nature, nobody who has been tracking the fortunes of either squad this season will have been even remotely shocked by the final score.

Over the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish league between them, reducing the beautiful game to something of a joke in the process. Nine games into the present season it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who number Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – might just be prepared to strike while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

While much of the focus in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being suffered by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at Ibrox has resulted in that Celtic's slightly less terminal decay has been able to fester unnoticed. The defending title winners have so far lost 10 points from their opening nine fixtures this season under their manager. The Celtic manager has developed the distant look of a man who constantly checking his Google calendar to find out how many time are remaining until his deal ends, and woke up this morning to discover the number is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure here," he informed reporters following the defeat, after they had questioned his desire for any kind of a title fight. "Therefore the drive is there to try and reverse the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the dreadful start to the campaign being endured by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his players could normally be anticipated to get away with their own failure to start strongly, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the fray. Despite being forced to operate with a budget that isn't so much a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have added the investment and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership equation. In addition to investing ten million pounds during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has granted the club exclusive use of his top secret analytics-based Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to discover hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at Tynecastle on Sunday sporting a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be observed celebrating each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had almost certainly noticed the bookies had greatly misjudged his team's chances of beating the struggling title holders, and filled his boots as a result.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a statement win," said the facial-haired team manager the head coach after his team's most recent victory, their eighth win in nine outings. "It might be for those on the periphery. It could alter 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 given us. In terms of skill, we appear in a good place, and certainly in fitness we look in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Of course, it's not a position that this club is used to being in." Correct, the manager, it isn't. But the wonderful, analytics-backed truth is that for the first time in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a championship battle that somebody besides Celtic or Rangers can claim.