🔗 Share this article

JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the sole surprising aspect of Hearts' triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which taken aback observers appeared when reports of the outcome and its impact for the top of the table circulated. While this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which leaves the Jambos leading of the league and a significant margin ahead of their rivals, was earth-shattering in scale, nobody who has been tracking the progress of both squad this season will have been in the least astonished by the result.

Over the past 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish league between them, reducing the beautiful game to almost a joke in the process. Nine games into the current campaign it has become clear that Hearts – who count Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their famous supporters – could be prepared to make their move while the Old Firm influence is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

While much of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being suffered by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at Ibrox has meant that Celtic's comparatively less severe decay has been allowed to worsen below the radar. The reigning champions have so far lost a considerable number from nine league games this term under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has acquired the distant look of a man who can't stop checking his Google calendar to see how many time are left until his contract expires, and woke up this day to learn the answer is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure at the club," he told reporters following the loss, after they had doubted his appetite for anything resembling a title fight. "So the motivation is there to try and flip the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the horrific start to the campaign being experienced by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his players could normally be expected to escape scrutiny for their own failure to start strongly, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has entered the fray. In spite of being obliged to function with a budget that isn't so much a small portion of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have added the investment and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership mix. As well as putting in ten million pounds during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has provided the club exclusive use of his highly confidential data-driven Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to unearth unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a modest car. Spotted at their home venue on matchday sporting a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be seen cheering each score with the gusto of a man who had likely realized the oddsmakers had greatly misjudged his side's chances of defeating the out-of-sorts champions, and placed large bets as a result.

COACH'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said bearded team manager the head coach after his side's latest victory, their eighth in nine league matches. "It might be for those on the outside looking in. It could alter opinions. It may confirm views that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the players have given us. Technically, we look in a strong position, and definitely in fitness we look in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Of course, it's not a position 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, the Scottish game might genuinely have a championship battle that a team besides Celtic or Rangers can win.