🔗 Share this article

JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the only surprising element of Hearts' triumph over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which surprised people appeared when news of the outcome and its consequences for the top of the standings circulated. While this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which leaves the Jambos top of the table and a significant margin clear of their rivals, was seismic in nature, no one who has been tracking the progress of both team this season will have been in the least astonished by the result.

Over the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish league between them, reducing fitba to almost a punchline in the process. Nine games into the present campaign it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their famous supporters – might just be ready to strike while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

Although a lot of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at their stadium has resulted in that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been allowed to worsen below the radar. The reigning champions have already lost 10 points from nine league games this term under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has developed the distant look of a man who constantly checking his Google calendar to see how many days are left until his deal ends, and woke up this morning to discover the number is 246.

"I've never worked harder in all my time at the club," he informed the media following the loss, after they had doubted his desire for any kind of a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is present to attempt to flip the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the dreadful start to the season being experienced by Rangers, Rodgers and his players could typically be expected to get away with their own failure to start strongly, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the mix. Despite being obliged to function with a budget that is not just a small portion of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the investment and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership mix. In addition to putting in £10m during the off-season, the Brighton owner has provided Hearts sole use of his highly confidential analytics-based Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to unearth hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at Tynecastle on Sunday sporting a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be seen celebrating each goal with the gusto of a person who had likely noticed the oddsmakers had massively underestimated his side's prospects of defeating the out-of-sorts title holders, and placed large bets accordingly.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a statement win," said the facial-haired team manager Derek McInnes after his side's most recent victory, their eighth win in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for others on the outside looking in. It might change opinions. It may confirm views that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the players have provided us. In terms of skill, we appear in a good place, and certainly in fitness we look in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Naturally, this is not a situation that this club is accustomed to being in." Correct, Derek, it is not. But the glorious, data-driven truth is that for the initial occasion in many years, Scottish football might actually have a championship battle that somebody other than Celtic or Rangers can win.