🔗 Share this article

JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the only unexpected element of Hearts' triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which surprised observers appeared when reports of the result and its consequences for the summit of the table circulated. Although this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which leaves the Jambos leading of the table and eight points ahead of their rivals, was earth-shattering in scale, no one who has been tracking the fortunes of both squad this campaign will have been even remotely shocked by the result.

For each of the past 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to something of a joke in the process. Several matches into the present campaign it has become apparent that Hearts – who count Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – might just be ready to make their move while the Old Firm iron is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' 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 situation at Ibrox has meant that the title holders' slightly less terminal decay has been able to worsen unnoticed. The reigning champions have already dropped a considerable number from nine league games this season under their manager. The team's boss has acquired the distant look of a man who constantly checking his Google calendar to see how many time are remaining until his contract ends, and woke up this morning to learn the number is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure here," he informed reporters following the loss, after they had questioned his appetite for any kind of a title fight. "So the motivation is present to try and reverse the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the dreadful start to the season being endured by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his players could typically be expected to get away with their own inability to start strongly, but this year an capital city challenger has entered the fray. Despite being forced to operate with a war-chest that isn't so much a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have added the investment and expertise of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership equation. As well as putting in ten million pounds during the off-season, the Brighton owner has provided the club sole use of his highly confidential analytics-based Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to discover 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 combined cost of a modest car. Spotted at Tynecastle on matchday sporting a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be observed cheering each score with the enthusiasm of a person who had likely realized the oddsmakers had greatly misjudged his team's chances of defeating the out-of-sorts champions, and filled his boots accordingly.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said the facial-haired team manager the head coach after his side's most recent victory, their eighth in nine outings. "It might be for those on the outside looking in. It might change perceptions. It might validate views that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the players have given us. In terms of skill, we look in a good place, and definitely physically we look in a good place, so we hope it persists. Of course, it's not a position that the team is accustomed to being in." Correct, the manager, it is not. But the glorious, data-driven reality is that for the initial occasion in ages, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that a team other than the traditional powers can win.