🔗 Share this article

JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the only unexpected element of Hearts' triumph over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was just how taken aback people seemed when reports of the outcome and its impact for the summit of the standings emerged. Although this 3-1 win at their home ground, which leaves the Jambos top of the table and a significant margin clear of their rivals, was earth-shattering in nature, nobody who has been tracking the progress of both squad this campaign will have been in the least astonished by the result.

Over the last 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 something of a punchline in the meantime. Several matches into the current campaign it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who number celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – might just be prepared to make their move while the Glasgow duo influence is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

While a lot of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at Ibrox has resulted in that the title holders' comparatively less severe decline has been able to fester below the radar. The reigning champions have so far dropped a considerable number from nine fixtures this term under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has acquired the distant look of a man who can't stop consulting his schedule to find out how many time are left until his contract expires, and woke up this morning to learn the answer 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 appetite for anything resembling a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is present to attempt to reverse the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the horrific start to the season being experienced by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his players could typically be anticipated 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 obliged to operate with a war-chest that isn't so much a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have added the investment and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership equation. In addition to putting in £10m during the off-season, the Brighton owner has granted the club sole use of his top secret data-driven Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to discover hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at Tynecastle on Sunday wearing a club colours, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be observed cheering each score with the enthusiasm of a person who had likely realized the bookies had massively underestimated his side's prospects of defeating 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 the head coach after his team's latest success, their eighth win in nine league matches. "It might be for others on the outside looking in. It could alter perceptions. It might validate views that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the players have provided us. In terms of skill, we appear in a good place, and certainly in fitness we look in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Of course, this is not a situation that this club is accustomed to being in." Correct, the manager, it is not. But the glorious, data-driven truth is that for the initial occasion in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a championship battle that a team besides the traditional powers can win.