🔗 Share this article

JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the only surprising aspect of Hearts' victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how taken aback observers appeared when news of the outcome and its impact for the top of the standings emerged. While this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which puts the Jambos leading of the table and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was seismic in scale, no one who has been tracking the fortunes of either squad this season will have been even remotely shocked by the result.

Over the last 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish football between them, turning fitba to something of a joke in the process. Nine games into the current campaign it has become apparent that Hearts – who number Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their famous supporters – might just be ready to strike while the Old Firm iron is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

While much of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at their stadium has meant that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been allowed to worsen unnoticed. The defending title winners have already lost a considerable number from their opening nine fixtures this term under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has developed the thousand-yard stare of a individual who constantly consulting his schedule to see how many days are remaining until his deal expires, and woke up this day to discover the number is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure at the club," he informed the media following the defeat, after they had doubted his appetite for anything resembling a title fight. "So the motivation is present to try and reverse the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the horrific beginning to the season being endured by Rangers, Rodgers and his players could typically be expected to get away with their own failure to start strongly, but this year an capital city challenger has entered the fray. Despite being forced to function with a budget that is not just a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have introduced the investment and expertise of Tony Bloom to the SPL mix. As well as investing £10m during the off-season, the Brighton owner has granted the club sole use of his top secret data-driven Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to unearth unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a modest car. Spotted at their home venue on matchday sporting a club colours, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be observed celebrating each goal with the enthusiasm of a man who had almost certainly noticed the bookies had massively underestimated his side's chances of defeating the struggling title holders, and filled his boots as a result.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a statement win," said bearded Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his team's most recent victory, their eighth in nine outings. "It might be for others on the outside looking in. It might change opinions. It might validate opinions that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the players have given us. In terms of skill, we appear in a strong position, and certainly physically we seem in a good place, so we hope it persists. Of course, this is not a situation that this club is used to being in." No, the manager, it isn't. But the wonderful, analytics-backed reality is that for the first time in many years, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that somebody other than the traditional powers can win.