🔗 Share this article

JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole surprising aspect of Hearts' victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how taken aback observers seemed when news of the outcome and its impact for the top of the table circulated. Although this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which puts the Edinburgh side top of the table and eight points clear of Celtic, was earth-shattering in scale, nobody who has been tracking the progress of either squad this campaign will have been in the least shocked by the result.

For each of the past 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish league between them, turning fitba to something of a punchline in the meantime. Several matches into the present season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who number celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – might just be ready to make their move while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

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 circumstances at Ibrox has meant that the title holders' comparatively less severe decay has been able to worsen unnoticed. The defending title winners have so far dropped a considerable number from their opening nine league games this season under their manager. 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 contract ends, and awoke this day to learn the number is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in all my time at the club," he told the media following the defeat, after they had questioned his desire for anything resembling a championship battle. "So the motivation is present to try and flip the levels 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 the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his players could normally be expected to get away with their own inability to start strongly, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has entered the mix. Despite being obliged to operate with a war-chest that isn't so much a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the money and expertise of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership equation. In addition to putting in ten million pounds during the summer, the Brighton owner has provided the club sole use of his highly confidential data-driven Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to unearth hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a modest car. Seen at their home venue on Sunday sporting a club colours, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be seen cheering each goal with the enthusiasm of a man who had likely realized the oddsmakers had greatly underestimated his side's chances of defeating the out-of-sorts title holders, and filled his boots as a result.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a statement win," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer the head coach after his team's most recent success, their eighth win in nine outings. "It might be for others on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It might validate views that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the players have provided us. Technically, we look in a good place, and definitely in fitness we look in a good place, so long may that continue. Naturally, this is not a situation that this club is accustomed to being in." No, the manager, it is not. But the glorious, analytics-backed reality is that for the first time in many years, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that a team besides Celtic or Rangers can claim.