🔗 Share this article

JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the only surprising aspect of Heart of Midlothian's victory over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was just how taken aback observers seemed when reports of the result and its consequences for the summit of the standings emerged. Although this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which puts the Jambos top of the table and a significant margin ahead of Celtic, was seismic in scale, nobody who has been tracking the fortunes of both team this campaign will have been in the least shocked by the result.

For each of the last four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish football between them, turning fitba to something of a joke in the meantime. Several matches into the current campaign it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who number celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – could be ready to make their move while the Old Firm influence is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

Although a lot of the attention in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the situation at their stadium has resulted in that Celtic's comparatively less severe decay has been able to fester unnoticed. The reigning champions have so far dropped a considerable number from nine league games this term under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has developed the thousand-yard stare of a individual who constantly checking his schedule to see how many days are left until his deal ends, and awoke this day to learn the answer 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 anything resembling a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is there to attempt to reverse the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the horrific start to the season being endured by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his men could normally be expected to get away with their own failure to start strongly, but this year 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, the Tynecastle outfit have added the investment and expertise of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership mix. In addition to investing ten million pounds during the summer, the Brighton owner has granted the club exclusive use of his highly confidential analytics-based proprietary scouting player identification system.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to unearth unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a modest car. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday wearing a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be seen cheering each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had likely noticed the oddsmakers had greatly underestimated his side's prospects of beating the struggling title holders, and filled his boots accordingly.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a statement win," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his team's latest success, their eighth in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for others on the periphery. It could alter opinions. It may confirm opinions that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have provided us. Technically, we appear in a strong position, and definitely physically we look in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Naturally, this is not a situation that this club is accustomed to being in." No, the manager, it isn't. But the wonderful, analytics-backed reality is that for the first time in ages, the Scottish game might genuinely have a championship battle that a team other than Celtic or Rangers can claim.