🔗 Share this article

JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole surprising element of Heart of Midlothian's victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how surprised people appeared when reports of the result and its impact for the summit of the standings circulated. Although this 3-1 win at their home ground, which leaves the Edinburgh side top of the league and a significant margin ahead of Celtic, was earth-shattering in nature, nobody who has been following the fortunes of either squad this campaign will have been in the least shocked by the result.

For each of the past 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish league between them, reducing the beautiful game to something of a joke in the meantime. Nine games into the current campaign it has become apparent 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 Glasgow duo iron is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

Although a lot of the focus in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the situation at their stadium has resulted in that the title holders' comparatively less severe decay has been able to worsen unnoticed. The defending title winners have already dropped a considerable number from their opening nine league games this term under their manager. The Celtic manager has developed the thousand-yard stare of a man who can't stop consulting his schedule to find out how many time are remaining until his deal expires, and woke up this morning to learn the answer is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure at the club," he informed the media following the defeat, after they had questioned his appetite for anything resembling a title fight. "Therefore the drive is present to attempt to reverse the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the dreadful beginning to the season being experienced by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his men could normally be expected to get away with their own failure to roar out of the traps, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the fray. In spite of being obliged to function with a budget that isn't so much a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have added the money and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the SPL mix. In addition to putting in £10m during the summer, the Brighton owner has granted the club sole use of his top secret analytics-based Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to discover unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at their home venue on Sunday sporting a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be seen cheering each score with the gusto of a man who had likely realized the bookies had greatly underestimated his team's prospects of beating the struggling champions, and filled his boots accordingly.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired team manager Derek McInnes after his team's most recent victory, their eighth in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for those on the periphery. It could alter opinions. It may confirm views that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the players have given us. In terms of skill, we look in a strong position, and definitely physically we look in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Of course, this is not a situation that the team is used to being in." No, Derek, it isn't. But the wonderful, analytics-backed reality is that for the initial occasion in ages, Scottish football might actually have a title race that a team other than Celtic or Rangers can claim.