🔗 Share this article

JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the only unexpected element of Hearts' victory over Celtic 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 standings circulated. Although this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which leaves the Edinburgh side top of the league and eight points ahead of their rivals, was seismic in nature, nobody who has been tracking the progress of both team this campaign will have been in the least shocked by the result.

For each of the last 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish football between them, reducing the beautiful game to something of a joke in the process. Nine games into the present campaign it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who number celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – could be ready to make their move while the Old Firm influence is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

While much of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at Ibrox has resulted in that the title holders' comparatively less severe decline has been able to fester unnoticed. The reigning champions have already lost a considerable number from their opening nine fixtures this term under their manager. The Celtic manager has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a individual who can't stop consulting his Google calendar to see how many days are left until his contract expires, and woke up this day to discover the number is 246.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure here," he informed the media following the defeat, after they had doubted his desire for anything resembling a championship battle. "So the motivation is there to attempt to reverse the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the dreadful start to the season being endured by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his men could normally be anticipated to get away with their own inability to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has entered the mix. In spite of being obliged to function with a budget that isn't so much a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have added the money and expertise of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership equation. In addition to investing ten million pounds during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has provided the club exclusive use of his top secret data-driven Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to unearth hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a modest car. Spotted at Tynecastle on Sunday wearing a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be observed celebrating each score with the gusto of a person who had likely noticed the bookies had massively misjudged his team's prospects of beating the out-of-sorts champions, and filled his boots as a result.

COACH'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said bearded team manager the head coach after his side's latest victory, their eighth win in nine outings. "It might be for others on the outside looking in. It might change perceptions. It might validate views that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the lads have given us. In terms of skill, we appear in a strong position, and certainly physically we look in a good place, so we hope it persists. Of course, this is not a situation that the team is accustomed to being in." No, Derek, it isn't. But the wonderful, data-driven reality is that for the initial occasion in many years, the Scottish game might genuinely have a championship battle that a team other than Celtic or Rangers can claim.