🔗 Share this article

JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole unexpected aspect of Hearts' triumph over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which surprised observers seemed when news of the result and its consequences for the summit of the table circulated. While this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which puts the Edinburgh side leading of the table and a significant margin ahead of their rivals, was earth-shattering in scale, no one who has been following the progress of both team this campaign will have been even remotely astonished by the result.

For each of the past 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. Several matches into the current campaign it has become apparent that Hearts – who count celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – could be prepared to make their move while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

While a lot of the focus in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the situation at Ibrox has resulted in that the title holders' slightly less terminal decay has been allowed to worsen unnoticed. The defending title winners have so far lost a considerable number from their opening nine league games this season under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has developed the thousand-yard stare of a man who constantly consulting his schedule to see how many time are left until his deal ends, and woke up this day to discover the answer is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time here," he informed the media following the loss, after they had questioned his desire for any kind of a title fight. "Therefore the drive is there to try and flip the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the dreadful beginning to the season being experienced by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his players could typically be expected to get away with their own inability to start strongly, but this year an capital city challenger has entered the fray. In spite of being forced to operate with a war-chest that isn't so much a small portion of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have introduced the money and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership equation. As well as putting in £10m during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has provided the club exclusive use of his highly confidential analytics-based Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect 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 combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at Tynecastle on matchday wearing a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be observed cheering each goal with the gusto of a person who had almost certainly noticed the bookies had massively misjudged his team's prospects of defeating the out-of-sorts champions, and placed large bets as a result.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired team manager the head coach after his team's latest success, their eighth in nine outings. "It might be for those on the periphery. It could alter opinions. It might validate views that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the lads have provided us. Technically, we look in a strong position, and definitely in fitness we look in a good place, so long may that continue. Of course, it's not a position that the team is used to being in." No, the manager, it isn't. 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 win.