🔗 Share this article

JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole unexpected aspect of Heart of Midlothian's victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was just how surprised observers appeared when reports of the outcome and its consequences for the top of the table emerged. While this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which leaves the Edinburgh side leading of the table and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was seismic in scale, nobody who has been following the fortunes of both squad this season will have been even remotely shocked by the final score.

Over the past four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish league between them, reducing the beautiful game to something of a joke in the process. Nine games into the current season it has become clear that Hearts – who count Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – could be ready to make their move while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

While a lot of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being endured by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at Ibrox has meant 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 their manager. The team's boss has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a man who can't stop checking his schedule to see how many time are left until his contract expires, and awoke this day to discover the answer is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time here," he told reporters following the defeat, after they had doubted his desire for anything resembling a championship battle. "So the motivation is there to attempt to flip the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the dreadful beginning to the season being experienced by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his men could typically be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own failure to roar out of the traps, but this year an capital city challenger has joined the fray. Despite being obliged to function with a budget that is not just a small portion of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the money and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership mix. In addition to investing ten million pounds during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has provided Hearts exclusive use of his top secret analytics-based proprietary scouting player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to discover hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a modest car. Seen at their home venue on matchday wearing a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be observed cheering each goal with the gusto of a person who had likely noticed the bookies had massively misjudged his team's chances of defeating the out-of-sorts title holders, and filled his boots accordingly.

COACH'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said bearded team manager Derek McInnes after his side's latest victory, their eighth win in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for others on the periphery. It could alter opinions. It might validate opinions that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the players have provided us. Technically, we appear in a good place, and certainly in fitness we seem in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Of course, it's not a position that the team is used to being in." No, the manager, it is not. But the wonderful, data-driven reality is that for the first time in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that a team other than Celtic or Rangers can win.