🔗 Share this article

JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the sole surprising element of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which surprised people seemed when reports of the result and its consequences for the top of the table circulated. While this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which puts the Edinburgh side top of the league and a significant margin ahead of Celtic, was earth-shattering in nature, no one who has been following the fortunes of either squad this season will have been in the least shocked by the final score.

Over the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish football between them, reducing the beautiful game to almost a punchline in the process. Several matches into the present campaign it has become clear that Hearts – who count celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their famous supporters – could be ready to make their move while the Old Firm iron is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

Although a lot of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the situation at Ibrox has meant that the title holders' comparatively less severe decay has been allowed to worsen unnoticed. The reigning champions have so far lost a considerable number from their opening nine fixtures this season under their manager. The team's boss has acquired the distant look of a individual who constantly checking his Google calendar to find out how many days are remaining until his contract expires, and awoke this day to learn the number is over two hundred.

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

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the horrific start to the campaign being experienced by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his men could typically be expected to escape scrutiny for their own inability 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 is not just a small portion of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the money and expertise of Tony Bloom to the SPL mix. In addition to putting in ten million pounds during the summer, the Brighton owner has granted the club sole use of his top secret data-driven Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to unearth unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a modest car. Seen at their home venue on matchday wearing a club colours, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be observed celebrating each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had almost certainly noticed the oddsmakers had greatly underestimated his team's chances of defeating the struggling champions, and placed large bets as a result.

COACH'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his side's most recent success, their eighth in nine outings. "It might be for those on the periphery. It could alter perceptions. It may confirm views that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the players have given us. In terms of skill, we appear in a strong position, and definitely physically we seem in a good place, so long may that continue. Naturally, it's not a position that the team is accustomed to being in." No, the manager, it is not. But the wonderful, analytics-backed reality is that for the initial occasion in many years, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that a team besides Celtic or Rangers can claim.