🔗 Share this article

JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the only unexpected element of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was just how taken aback people appeared when news of the outcome and its consequences for the summit of the table circulated. While this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which puts the Edinburgh side top of the table and a significant margin ahead of their rivals, was seismic in scale, nobody who has been tracking the progress of either squad this campaign will have been even remotely astonished by the result.

Over 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. Several matches into the present season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – might just be ready to strike while the Glasgow duo iron is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

Although much of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being endured by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at their stadium has meant that the title holders' slightly less terminal decay has been able to worsen below the radar. The defending title winners have already lost 10 points from their opening nine league games this term under their manager. The team's boss has developed the distant look of a individual who constantly checking his schedule to see how many days are remaining until his deal expires, and awoke this day to learn the answer is 246.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure at the club," he told reporters following the loss, after they had questioned his appetite for any kind of a title fight. "Therefore the drive is present to try and reverse the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the horrific start to the campaign being endured by Rangers, Rodgers and his players could typically be anticipated to get away with their own inability to roar out of the traps, but this year an capital city challenger has joined the mix. In spite of being forced to operate with a budget that is not just a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have introduced the money and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the SPL equation. As well as investing £10m during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has granted the club sole use of his top secret analytics-based proprietary scouting player identification system.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to discover hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at Tynecastle on Sunday sporting a club colours, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be seen celebrating each goal with the gusto of a person who had likely realized the oddsmakers had greatly underestimated his side's prospects of beating the struggling title holders, and placed large bets accordingly.

COACH'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said bearded team manager Derek McInnes after his side's latest victory, their eighth in nine league matches. "It might be for those on the outside looking in. It might change opinions. It might validate opinions that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the players have given us. In terms of skill, we look in a good place, and certainly in fitness we look in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Naturally, this is not a situation that the team is accustomed to being in." No, Derek, it is not. But the wonderful, analytics-backed truth is that for the first time in ages, the Scottish game might genuinely have a championship battle that somebody besides the traditional powers can claim.