🔗 Share this article

JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the sole unexpected element of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which surprised observers seemed when news of the outcome and its impact for the summit of the table emerged. While this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which puts the Edinburgh side leading of the league and eight points clear of Celtic, was earth-shattering in nature, no one who has been following the fortunes of either squad this campaign will have been in the least shocked by the final score.

For each of the past four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish league between them, reducing fitba to something of a joke in the process. Nine games into the present campaign it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who number Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – could be prepared to make their move while the Old Firm iron is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

While a lot of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being endured by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at Ibrox has meant that the title holders' comparatively less severe decay has been allowed to fester unnoticed. The defending title winners have so far lost a considerable number from their opening nine league games this season under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a individual who constantly consulting his schedule to find out how many time are left until his deal expires, and woke up this day to learn the answer is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time here," he told the media following the defeat, after they had questioned his desire for anything resembling a championship battle. "So the motivation is there to attempt to reverse the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the horrific beginning to the campaign being endured by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his players could normally be expected to get away with their own failure to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the mix. Despite being forced to operate with a war-chest that is not just a small portion of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have introduced the money and expertise of a renowned businessman to the SPL mix. In addition to putting in ten million pounds during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has provided the club exclusive use of his top secret data-driven Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to unearth unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday sporting a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be seen cheering each goal with the gusto of a man who had likely noticed the bookies had massively misjudged his team's chances of beating the struggling title holders, and filled his boots accordingly.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a statement win," said the facial-haired team manager Derek McInnes after his team's most recent victory, their eighth win in nine outings. "It might be for those on the outside looking in. It could alter opinions. It might validate views that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the players have given us. In terms of skill, we look in a good place, and definitely in fitness we seem in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Of course, it's not a position that this club is accustomed to being in." Correct, the manager, it is not. But the wonderful, data-driven reality is that for the initial occasion in ages, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that a team other than Celtic or Rangers can win.