🔗 Share this article

JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the sole surprising element of Hearts' victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which taken aback people seemed when reports of the result and its consequences for the top of the table circulated. Although this 3-1 win at their home ground, which leaves the Jambos leading of the league and a significant margin clear of their rivals, was earth-shattering in scale, no one who has been tracking the progress of both team this season will have been in the least shocked by the final score.

Over the last four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to something of a joke in the meantime. Several matches into the current campaign it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their famous supporters – might just be prepared to make their move while the Old Firm influence is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

While much of the focus in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being endured by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at Ibrox has meant that Celtic's slightly less terminal decay has been allowed to worsen below the radar. The reigning champions have already lost 10 points from their opening nine league games this term under their manager. The Celtic manager has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a man who can't stop checking his Google calendar to see how many time are remaining until his deal ends, and awoke this day to learn the number is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time here," he informed reporters following the defeat, after they had questioned his appetite for anything resembling a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is present to attempt to flip the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the dreadful start to the season being endured by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his players could typically be expected to escape scrutiny for their own inability to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has entered the mix. Despite being obliged to function with a war-chest that is not just a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have added the investment and expertise of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership mix. As well as putting in £10m during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has provided Hearts exclusive use of his highly confidential data-driven proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to unearth hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at Tynecastle on Sunday wearing a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be seen celebrating each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had likely noticed the oddsmakers had massively misjudged his side's prospects of beating the out-of-sorts champions, and placed large bets as a result.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a statement win," said the facial-haired team manager Derek McInnes after his team's latest victory, their eighth in nine league matches. "It might be for others on the periphery. It could alter perceptions. It may confirm opinions that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have provided us. In terms of skill, we appear in a strong position, and certainly in fitness we look in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Naturally, it's not a position that the team is accustomed to being in." No, the manager, it is not. But the wonderful, data-driven reality is that for the initial occasion in many years, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that a team besides Celtic or Rangers can claim.