🔗 Share this article

JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the only surprising aspect of Hearts' triumph over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which surprised people seemed when news of the result and its impact for the summit of the table emerged. While this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which leaves the Edinburgh side top of the league and eight points clear of Celtic, was earth-shattering in nature, nobody who has been following the fortunes of both squad this campaign will have been in the least astonished by the result.

For each of the last four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish league between them, reducing the beautiful game to almost a punchline in the meantime. Nine games into the present campaign it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who number celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their famous supporters – might just be ready to strike while the Glasgow duo influence is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

While much of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at their stadium has meant that the title holders' slightly less terminal decline has been allowed to fester below the radar. The reigning champions have so far lost a considerable number from nine fixtures this season under their manager. The Celtic manager has developed the thousand-yard stare of a man who constantly checking his schedule to see how many days are remaining until his deal ends, and woke up this day to discover the answer is 246.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure here," he informed reporters following the loss, after they had doubted his appetite for anything resembling a title fight. "So the motivation is present to try and flip the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the horrific beginning to the season being endured by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his men could normally be anticipated to get away with their own inability to start strongly, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has entered the mix. Despite being obliged to operate with a war-chest that isn't so much a small portion of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have added the investment and expertise of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership equation. In addition to putting in £10m during the summer, the Brighton owner has granted the club exclusive use of his top secret analytics-based proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to discover hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a modest car. Seen at Tynecastle on Sunday wearing a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be observed cheering each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had almost certainly realized the oddsmakers had massively misjudged his team's prospects of defeating the struggling title holders, and placed large bets accordingly.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said bearded team manager Derek McInnes after his side's latest victory, their eighth win in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for those on the outside looking in. It could alter perceptions. It may confirm views that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the players have provided us. Technically, we appear in a good place, and certainly in fitness we seem in a good place, so long may that continue. Naturally, this is not a situation that this club is used to being in." No, the manager, it is not. But the glorious, analytics-backed reality is that for the first time in many years, Scottish football might actually have a title race that a team besides Celtic or Rangers can win.