🔗 Share this article

JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the only unexpected aspect of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how surprised observers appeared when news of the result and its consequences for the summit of the standings circulated. While this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which puts the Jambos top of the table and a significant margin clear of their rivals, was seismic in scale, nobody who has been following the fortunes of both team this season will have been in the least astonished by the result.

Over the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to almost a punchline in the meantime. Nine games into the current season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – might just be prepared to make their move while the Glasgow duo iron is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

While much of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being suffered by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at Ibrox has meant that the title holders' comparatively less severe decline has been able to fester unnoticed. The reigning champions have so far dropped a considerable number from their opening nine league games this season under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has acquired the distant look of a individual who constantly checking his schedule to find out how many time are remaining until his deal expires, and woke up this morning to discover the answer is 246.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure at the club," he informed reporters following the loss, after they had questioned his desire for anything resembling a title fight. "So the motivation is present to attempt to flip the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the dreadful beginning to the season being endured by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his men could normally be expected to get away with their own failure to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has entered the fray. In spite of being obliged to operate with a budget that is not just a small portion of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the investment and expertise of Tony Bloom to the SPL equation. In addition to investing ten million pounds during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has granted Hearts exclusive use of his top secret analytics-based proprietary scouting 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 exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at their home venue on Sunday sporting a club colours, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be observed celebrating each score with the enthusiasm of a man who had likely realized the bookies had greatly underestimated his side's chances of defeating the out-of-sorts title holders, and filled his boots accordingly.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said the facial-haired team manager the head coach after his team's latest success, their eighth in nine outings. "It might be for those on the outside looking in. It could alter opinions. It might validate opinions that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the lads have given us. Technically, we appear in a strong position, and definitely in fitness we seem in a good place, so we hope it persists. Of course, this is not a situation that this club is used to being in." Correct, the manager, it isn't. But the glorious, analytics-backed reality is that for the initial occasion in ages, Scottish football might actually have a title race that somebody other than the traditional powers can win.