🔗 Share this article

JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the only surprising element of Hearts' triumph over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was just how taken aback observers seemed when reports of the result and its consequences for the summit of the standings circulated. While this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Jambos top of the table and eight points clear of their rivals, was earth-shattering in scale, no one who has been tracking the fortunes of both team this season will have been even remotely astonished by the final score.

For each of the past 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish league between them, reducing fitba to something of a joke in the process. Several matches into the present campaign it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – might just be prepared to strike while the Glasgow duo influence is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

Although a lot of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the situation at their stadium has meant that Celtic's slightly less terminal decay has been allowed to worsen unnoticed. 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 time are left until his contract expires, and awoke this day to discover the number is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time here," he informed the media following the defeat, after they had questioned his desire for anything resembling a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is present to try and reverse the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the dreadful beginning to the campaign being experienced by Rangers, Rodgers and his players could normally be expected to escape scrutiny for their own failure to roar out of the traps, but this year an capital city challenger has entered the mix. In spite of being obliged to operate with a budget that isn't so much a small portion of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have introduced the money and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership equation. As well as putting in ten million pounds during the summer, the Brighton owner has granted the club sole use of his highly confidential data-driven proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to unearth unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday sporting a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be observed cheering each goal with the enthusiasm of a man who had likely noticed the bookies had massively underestimated his team's prospects of beating the out-of-sorts title holders, and filled his boots accordingly.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer the head coach after his side's latest success, their eighth in nine outings. "It might be for those on the periphery. It might change opinions. It may confirm views that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the lads have provided us. In terms of skill, we look in a good place, and certainly physically we look in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Naturally, this is not a situation that this club is used to being in." No, Derek, it isn't. But the wonderful, data-driven reality is that for the initial occasion in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a championship battle that a team other than the traditional powers can win.