🔗 Share this article

JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the only unexpected aspect of Heart of Midlothian's victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which surprised people appeared when news of the result and its consequences for the summit of the standings emerged. While this convincing victory at their home ground, which puts the Jambos leading of the table and eight points ahead of their rivals, was earth-shattering in nature, nobody who has been following the progress of either squad this season will have been in the least astonished by the result.

For each of the last four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish league between them, turning fitba to something of a punchline in the meantime. Several matches into the present campaign it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – might just be ready to make their move while the Old Firm influence is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

While a lot of the focus in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being suffered by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at Ibrox has meant that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been allowed to fester unnoticed. The reigning champions have so far lost a considerable number from their opening nine league games this season under their manager. The team's boss has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a individual who can't stop consulting his Google calendar to find out how many days are left until his contract expires, 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 title fight. "So the motivation is present to attempt to flip the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the dreadful start to the season being endured by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his men could typically be expected to get away with their own failure to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the mix. In spite of being forced to function with a budget that isn't so much a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have introduced the investment and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership equation. As well as putting in ten million pounds during the summer, the Brighton owner has provided Hearts sole use of his top secret analytics-based Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to discover unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a modest car. Spotted at Tynecastle on Sunday sporting a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be observed celebrating each goal with the gusto of a man who had almost certainly realized the oddsmakers had massively misjudged 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 message-sending victory," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his team's latest victory, their eighth in nine outings. "It might be for others on the periphery. It could alter perceptions. It might validate opinions that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the players have provided us. Technically, we look in a strong position, and certainly physically we look in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Naturally, it's not a position that the team is used to being in." Correct, the manager, it is not. But the glorious, data-driven truth is that for the initial occasion in ages, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that somebody other than Celtic or Rangers can win.