🔗 Share this article

JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the only surprising aspect of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which taken aback observers seemed when news of the result and its impact for the top of the table circulated. Although this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which leaves the Jambos top of the league and eight points clear of their rivals, was seismic in scale, no one who has been following the fortunes of both team this season will have been even remotely shocked by the result.

For each of the last 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to something of a punchline in the process. Nine games into the current season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their famous supporters – could be ready to strike while the Old Firm influence is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

While a lot of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being suffered by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at Ibrox has resulted in that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been allowed to fester below the radar. The reigning champions have so far lost a considerable number from their opening nine league games this term under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a individual who constantly consulting his Google calendar to find out how many time are remaining until his contract expires, and awoke this morning to discover the number is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in all my time at the club," he told the media following the loss, after they had doubted his desire for any kind of a title fight. "So the motivation is there to try and flip the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the dreadful beginning to the campaign being experienced by Rangers, Rodgers and his players could typically be expected to escape scrutiny for their own failure to start strongly, but this year an capital city challenger has joined the fray. In spite of being forced to function with a budget that is not just a small portion of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the investment and expertise of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership mix. As well as investing ten million pounds during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has provided Hearts sole use of his highly confidential analytics-based Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to discover unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at Tynecastle on matchday sporting a club colours, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be seen celebrating each score with the gusto of a person who had likely noticed the bookies had massively misjudged his team's prospects of defeating the out-of-sorts champions, and filled his boots accordingly.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said bearded team manager the head coach after his side's latest success, their eighth in nine outings. "It might be for others on the outside looking in. It could alter perceptions. It may confirm opinions that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the lads have provided us. Technically, we appear in a strong position, and certainly in fitness we seem in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Of course, it's not a position that the team is accustomed to being in." Correct, the manager, it isn't. But the glorious, analytics-backed truth is that for the initial occasion in many years, Scottish football might actually have a title race that somebody besides Celtic or Rangers can claim.