🔗 Share this article

JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole surprising aspect of Heart of Midlothian's victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which taken aback observers appeared when reports of the result and its consequences for the top of the table circulated. Although this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which leaves the Edinburgh side top of the table and a significant margin clear of their rivals, was earth-shattering in scale, no one who has been following the progress of both squad this season 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 football between them, reducing the beautiful game to almost a punchline in the process. Several matches into the present season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – could be prepared to strike while the Glasgow duo iron is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

Although a lot of the focus in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at their stadium has meant that the title holders' comparatively less severe decline has been able to fester below the radar. The defending title winners have so far 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 man who can't stop checking his schedule to find out how many days are left until his deal expires, and awoke this day to learn the answer is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in all my time here," he told reporters following the loss, after they had doubted his appetite for any kind of a title fight. "Therefore the drive is there to attempt to reverse the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the horrific beginning to the campaign being endured by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his players could normally be expected to escape scrutiny for their own inability to start strongly, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has joined the fray. In spite of being obliged to operate with a budget that isn't so much a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have added the investment and expertise of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership equation. In addition to investing ten million pounds during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has granted the club exclusive use of his top secret data-driven Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to discover hidden talents from an English lower-league side, 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 their home venue on Sunday sporting a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be observed cheering each score with the gusto of a man who had likely noticed the bookies had massively misjudged his team's chances of defeating the struggling champions, and filled his boots as a result.

COACH'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said bearded team manager the head coach after his side's latest success, their eighth win in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for others on the outside looking in. It could alter perceptions. It may confirm opinions that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the players have given us. Technically, we appear in a good place, and certainly physically we seem in a good place, so long may that continue. Of course, this is not a situation that this club is used to being in." No, Derek, it isn't. But the glorious, analytics-backed truth is that for the initial occasion in many years, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that a team besides Celtic or Rangers can win.