🔗 Share this article

JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the sole unexpected element of Hearts' triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which surprised observers seemed when reports of the outcome and its impact for the summit of the standings circulated. 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 nature, no one who has been tracking the fortunes of either team this campaign will have been even remotely astonished by the final score.

For each of the last 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish league between them, turning fitba to something of a punchline 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 – might just be prepared to strike while the Glasgow duo iron is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

While a lot of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at Ibrox has resulted in that the title holders' slightly less terminal decline has been able to fester below the radar. The defending title winners have already lost 10 points from nine fixtures this term under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a man who constantly consulting his schedule to find out how many time are remaining until his deal ends, and awoke this day to discover the number is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure here," he told reporters following the loss, after they had questioned his appetite for anything resembling a title fight. "So the motivation is present to try and flip the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the dreadful start to the season being endured by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his players could normally be expected to get away with their own failure to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has entered the fray. In spite of being obliged to operate with a war-chest that isn't so much a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have added the money and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the SPL mix. As well as putting in ten million pounds during the off-season, the Brighton owner has provided the club sole use of his top secret data-driven Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to discover hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday sporting a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be seen cheering each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had likely realized the oddsmakers had massively underestimated his side's chances of defeating the struggling champions, and placed large bets as a result.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said bearded team manager the head coach after his side's latest victory, their eighth win in nine league matches. "It might be for those on the outside looking in. It might change opinions. It might validate opinions that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the lads have provided us. In terms of skill, we appear in a good place, and certainly physically we look in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Of course, it's not a position that the team is used to being in." Correct, Derek, it isn't. But the glorious, data-driven reality is that for the initial occasion in ages, the Scottish game might genuinely have a title race that a team besides the traditional powers can win.