🔗 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 seemed when news of the result and its consequences for the summit of the standings emerged. Although this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Edinburgh side top of the table and eight points ahead of Celtic, was seismic in scale, nobody who has been tracking the fortunes of either squad this season will have been even remotely shocked by the final score.

For each of the last 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish football between them, reducing the beautiful game to something of a joke in the meantime. Several matches into the present season it has become clear that Hearts – who number celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their famous supporters – could be prepared 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 disastrous season being endured by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the situation at Ibrox has meant that the title holders' comparatively less severe decay has been allowed to fester unnoticed. The defending title winners have already dropped 10 points from nine fixtures this season under their manager. The team's boss has developed the distant look of a man who can't stop consulting his schedule to see how many time are remaining until his deal expires, and awoke this day to discover the answer is 246.

"I've never worked harder in all my time at the club," he informed reporters following the defeat, after they had doubted his appetite for anything resembling a championship battle. "So the motivation is there to attempt to reverse the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the horrific start to the season being experienced by Rangers, Rodgers and his men could typically be expected to get away with their own inability to start strongly, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the mix. In spite of being forced to operate with a war-chest that isn't so much a small portion of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the money and expertise of Tony Bloom to the SPL mix. As well as putting in £10m during the summer, the Brighton owner has provided Hearts exclusive use of his highly confidential analytics-based Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to discover unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a modest car. Spotted at Tynecastle on matchday sporting a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be seen celebrating each goal with the gusto of a man who had likely realized the bookies had greatly misjudged his team's chances of defeating the out-of-sorts champions, and placed large bets as a result.

COACH'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a statement win," said bearded team manager Derek McInnes after his side's most recent success, their eighth in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for others on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It might validate opinions that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the players have provided us. In terms of skill, we appear in a strong position, and definitely physically we seem in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Of course, it's not a position that this club is accustomed to being in." Correct, the manager, it isn't. But the glorious, analytics-backed truth is that for the first time in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a championship battle that a team besides Celtic or Rangers can claim.