🔗 Share this article

JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the only unexpected aspect of Hearts' victory over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which taken aback people appeared when reports of the outcome and its impact for the top of the standings emerged. While this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which leaves the Jambos leading of the league and eight points clear of Celtic, was earth-shattering in nature, nobody who has been following the progress of both team this campaign will have been even remotely astonished by the final score.

Over the last four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish league between them, reducing the beautiful game to almost a punchline in the meantime. Several matches into the present campaign it has become apparent that Hearts – who count celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their famous supporters – might just be ready to strike while the Glasgow duo influence is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

While much of the focus in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being endured by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the situation at Ibrox has resulted in that Celtic's slightly less terminal decay has been able to fester below the radar. The reigning champions have already dropped 10 points from nine fixtures this season under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has acquired the distant look of a man who constantly checking his Google calendar to see how many days are left until his contract ends, and awoke this morning to discover the answer is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure here," he informed the media following the loss, after they had doubted his appetite for any kind of a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is there to attempt to reverse the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering 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 failure to start strongly, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the mix. Despite being obliged to operate with a budget that isn't so much a small portion of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have added the investment and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the SPL mix. As well as investing ten million pounds during the summer, the Brighton owner has granted the club sole use of his highly confidential data-driven proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to unearth unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at their home venue on matchday wearing a club colours, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be seen cheering each score with the enthusiasm of a man who had likely noticed the oddsmakers had massively underestimated his team's chances of defeating the struggling title holders, and placed large bets accordingly.

COACH'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a statement win," said bearded Hearts gaffer the head coach after his team's most recent victory, their eighth in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for others on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It may confirm opinions that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the lads have provided us. In terms of skill, we look in a strong position, and certainly physically we seem in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Naturally, this is not a situation that this club is used to being in." No, the manager, it is not. But the wonderful, analytics-backed truth is that for the initial occasion in many years, the Scottish game might genuinely have a title race that a team other than Celtic or Rangers can claim.