🔗 Share this article

JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the sole surprising element of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was just how surprised observers appeared when news of the outcome and its consequences for the top of the table emerged. Although this convincing victory at their home ground, which puts the Jambos top of the league and eight points clear of their rivals, was seismic in scale, nobody who has been following the progress of either squad this season will have been even remotely astonished by the final score.

Over the last 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish league between them, reducing the beautiful game to something of a punchline in the process. Nine games into the present season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who number Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – could be ready to strike while the Old Firm iron is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

While much of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at their stadium has resulted in that Celtic's comparatively less severe decline has been allowed to fester below the radar. The reigning champions have already dropped 10 points from their opening nine league games this term under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has developed the distant look of a man who constantly consulting his schedule to see how many time are remaining until his contract expires, and woke up this morning to discover the number is 246.

"I've never worked harder in all my time here," he told the media following the loss, after they had doubted his desire for any kind of a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is there to try and reverse the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the dreadful start to the campaign being endured by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his players could normally be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own failure to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has joined the fray. In spite of being forced to function with a budget that is not just a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have added the investment and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership mix. In addition to investing ten million pounds during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has granted the club sole use of his top secret analytics-based Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent 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 total price of a modest car. Seen at their home venue on matchday sporting a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be observed cheering each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had likely noticed the bookies had greatly underestimated his team's chances of beating the struggling title holders, and filled his boots accordingly.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his side's latest victory, their eighth win in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for those on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It may confirm views that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the players have provided us. Technically, we look in a strong position, and certainly physically we seem in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Naturally, it's not a position that the team is accustomed to being in." No, the manager, it isn't. But the wonderful, analytics-backed reality is that for the first time in ages, the Scottish game might genuinely have a championship battle that a team other than the traditional powers can win.