🔗 Share this article

JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole surprising aspect of Heart of Midlothian's victory over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was just how surprised observers seemed when news of the result and its consequences for the summit of the table circulated. Although this convincing victory at their home ground, which leaves the Jambos leading of the table and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was seismic in scale, nobody who has been following the fortunes of both squad this season will have been even remotely astonished by the final score.

For each of the last 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish league between them, reducing fitba to almost a punchline in the meantime. Nine games into the current campaign it has become apparent that Hearts – who count Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their famous supporters – could be ready to make their move while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

Although much of the attention in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at Ibrox has meant that Celtic's slightly less terminal decay has been allowed to worsen below the radar. The defending title winners have already dropped a considerable number from nine fixtures this term under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has acquired the distant look of a individual who constantly consulting his Google calendar to find out how many time are left until his deal ends, and woke up this day to discover the answer is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure here," he informed reporters following the defeat, after they had doubted his desire for anything resembling a championship battle. "So the motivation is there to try and reverse the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the dreadful start to the campaign being experienced by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his players could typically be expected to escape scrutiny for their own failure to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the mix. Despite being obliged to operate with a war-chest that is not just a small portion of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have introduced the investment and expertise of a renowned businessman to the SPL mix. As well as putting in ten million pounds during the off-season, the Brighton owner has provided Hearts sole use of his highly confidential data-driven proprietary scouting player identification system.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to unearth hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at their home venue on Sunday sporting a club colours, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be observed celebrating each goal with the gusto of a man who had almost certainly noticed the bookies had massively underestimated his team's prospects of defeating the struggling champions, and placed large bets as a result.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said bearded team manager the head coach after his team's latest success, their eighth win in nine outings. "Perhaps it is 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're really pleased with what the lads have given us. Technically, we look in a good place, and definitely physically we seem in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Naturally, it's not a position that this club is accustomed to being in." Correct, the manager, it is not. But the wonderful, data-driven reality is that for the first time in many years, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that a team other than the traditional powers can claim.