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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the only surprising element of Heart of Midlothian's victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was just how taken aback observers seemed when reports of the outcome and its consequences for the top of the standings emerged. Although this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which leaves the Jambos top of the league and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was seismic in scale, no one who has been following the progress of both team this campaign will have been even remotely shocked by the result.

For each of the last four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish football between them, reducing the beautiful game to almost a punchline in the meantime. Nine games into the present campaign it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – might just be ready to strike while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

Although a lot of the attention in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being endured by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the situation at Ibrox has resulted in that Celtic's comparatively less severe decay has been able to worsen below the radar. The defending title winners have already dropped 10 points from their opening nine league games this term under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has acquired the distant look of a individual who constantly consulting his schedule to see how many days are left until his deal ends, and awoke this morning to discover the answer is 246.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure at the club," he told reporters following the loss, after they had questioned his appetite for any kind of a title fight. "So the motivation is there to try and reverse the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the dreadful beginning to the season being endured by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his players could normally be expected to get away with their own failure to start strongly, but this year an capital city challenger has joined the mix. Despite being forced to operate with a war-chest that isn't so much a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have added the investment and expertise of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership equation. In addition to putting in £10m during the summer, the Brighton owner has provided Hearts exclusive use of his top secret analytics-based Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to unearth hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at Tynecastle on matchday wearing a club colours, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be observed cheering each score with the gusto of a person who had almost certainly realized the bookies had greatly misjudged his team's chances of defeating the struggling champions, and filled his boots as a result.

COACH'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said bearded Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his team's most recent success, their eighth in nine league matches. "It might be for those on the periphery. It could alter perceptions. It might validate opinions that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have given us. In terms of skill, we look in a strong position, and certainly in fitness we look in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Naturally, this is not a situation that this club is accustomed to being in." No, the manager, it isn't. But the wonderful, data-driven truth is that for the initial occasion in many years, the Scottish game might genuinely have a title race that a team besides the traditional powers can win.