🔗 Share this article

JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the sole surprising aspect of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how taken aback people appeared when news of the result and its impact for the summit of the table emerged. Although this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Jambos leading of the league and eight points ahead of Celtic, was earth-shattering in scale, no one who has been tracking the progress of both squad this campaign will have been even remotely shocked by the final score.

For each of the last 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to almost a punchline in the process. Several matches into the present season it has become apparent that Hearts – who count celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their famous supporters – could be prepared to strike while the Glasgow duo iron is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

While much of the attention in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being suffered by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at Ibrox has resulted in that Celtic's comparatively less severe decay has been allowed to fester unnoticed. The reigning champions have already lost 10 points from nine league games this season under their manager. The Celtic manager has developed the distant look of a individual who constantly checking his schedule to find out how many time are left until his deal expires, and awoke this day to discover the answer is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in all my time here," he informed reporters following the loss, after they had questioned his desire for any kind of a title fight. "So the motivation is there to try and flip the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the horrific beginning to the campaign being experienced by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his men could normally be anticipated to get away with their own inability to start strongly, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the mix. Despite being obliged to function with a war-chest that isn't so much a small portion of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the money and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the SPL equation. In addition to investing ten million pounds during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has provided Hearts sole use of his highly confidential analytics-based proprietary scouting player identification system.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to unearth hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at their home venue on matchday sporting a club colours, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be seen celebrating each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had almost certainly noticed the oddsmakers had massively misjudged his side's prospects of beating the struggling title holders, and placed large bets accordingly.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired team manager Derek McInnes after his team's latest victory, their eighth in nine league matches. "It might be for others on the periphery. It could alter perceptions. It may confirm opinions that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the lads have provided us. Technically, we look in a strong position, and definitely in fitness we seem in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Naturally, it's not a position that the team is used to being in." Correct, Derek, it isn't. But the wonderful, data-driven reality is that for the initial occasion in ages, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that somebody besides the traditional powers can claim.