🔗 Share this article

JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole surprising element of Hearts' victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how taken aback people appeared when news of the outcome and its consequences for the top of the table emerged. While this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Jambos leading of the league and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was seismic in nature, no one who has been following the progress of both squad this season will have been even remotely shocked by the final score.

For each of the last 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to something of a joke in the process. Several matches into the present season it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who count celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their famous supporters – might just be ready to strike while the Old Firm iron is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

While a lot of the attention in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being suffered by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at Ibrox has resulted in that the title holders' comparatively less severe decay has been allowed to fester below the radar. The reigning champions have so far dropped a considerable number from nine fixtures this term under their manager. The Celtic manager has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a man who can't stop consulting his schedule to see how many time are remaining until his contract expires, and awoke this day to discover the number is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure here," he informed the media following the defeat, after they had doubted his desire for any kind of a title fight. "Therefore the drive is there to try and flip the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the dreadful start to the campaign being experienced by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his men could normally be expected to escape scrutiny for their own failure to start strongly, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the fray. Despite being obliged to operate with a war-chest that is not just a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have added the money and expertise of a renowned businessman to the SPL mix. As well as investing £10m during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has granted the club exclusive use of his top secret analytics-based Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

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 lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at Tynecastle on matchday wearing a club colours, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be seen celebrating each goal with the enthusiasm of a man who had almost certainly noticed the bookies had greatly misjudged his team's chances of beating the struggling title holders, and filled his boots accordingly.

COACH'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said the facial-haired team manager Derek McInnes after his team's latest victory, their eighth win in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for others on the periphery. It could alter perceptions. It may confirm views that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the players have provided us. In terms of skill, we appear in a good place, and certainly in fitness we look in a good place, so long may that continue. Naturally, it's not a position that the team is used to being in." Correct, Derek, it is not. But the wonderful, analytics-backed truth is that for the first time in many years, Scottish football might actually have a title race that somebody other than the traditional powers can win.