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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole surprising element of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which surprised observers seemed when news of the outcome and its consequences for the summit of the table circulated. While this convincing victory at their home ground, which leaves the Jambos top of the league and eight points ahead of their rivals, was seismic in nature, no one who has been following the fortunes of both squad this campaign will have been in the least astonished by the result.

For each of the past 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish league between them, turning the beautiful game to something of a punchline in the process. Nine games into the current campaign it has become apparent that Hearts – who count celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – could be ready to strike while the Old Firm influence is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

Although a lot of the focus in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being suffered by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at their stadium has resulted in that the title holders' slightly less terminal decay has been allowed to fester below the radar. The reigning champions have so far lost a considerable number from nine league games this season under their manager. The team's boss has developed the distant look of a individual who constantly consulting his Google calendar to find out how many days are left until his deal ends, and woke up this morning to discover the number is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time here," he told the media following the loss, after they had questioned his appetite for anything resembling 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

Considering the horrific beginning to the season being experienced by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his men could typically be expected to escape scrutiny for their own failure to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has entered the mix. In spite of being forced to function with a war-chest that isn't so much a small portion of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the investment and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership equation. In addition to putting in ten million pounds during the summer, the Brighton owner has provided the club sole use of his top secret data-driven Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to discover hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a modest car. Seen at Tynecastle on Sunday sporting a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be observed cheering each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had almost certainly realized the oddsmakers had greatly misjudged his side's prospects of beating the out-of-sorts champions, and filled his boots as a result.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer the head coach after his side's latest victory, their eighth in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for others on the outside looking in. It might change perceptions. It may confirm opinions that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have given us. In terms of skill, we appear in a good place, and definitely in fitness we seem in a good place, so long may that continue. Of course, this is not a situation that the team is used to being in." Correct, the manager, it isn't. But the glorious, data-driven reality is that for the initial occasion in ages, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that somebody other than Celtic or Rangers can claim.