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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the sole surprising aspect of Hearts' triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was just how surprised people seemed when news of the outcome and its consequences for the top of the standings emerged. Although this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which leaves the Edinburgh side top of the league and a significant margin clear of their rivals, was earth-shattering in nature, no one who has been tracking the fortunes of both squad this season will have been in the least shocked by the result.

For each of the past 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish league between them, turning the beautiful game to almost a punchline in the process. Several matches into the present campaign it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who number celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their famous supporters – could be prepared to make their move while the Old Firm iron is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

Although much of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being endured by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at Ibrox has resulted in that the title holders' slightly less terminal decline has been allowed to fester unnoticed. The defending title winners have already dropped a considerable number from their opening nine league games this term under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has developed the thousand-yard stare of a man who constantly consulting his schedule to find out how many time are remaining until his contract ends, and woke up this morning to discover the answer is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure at the club," he told the media following the defeat, after they had questioned his appetite for anything resembling a championship battle. "So the motivation is there to attempt to reverse the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the dreadful start to the season being experienced by Rangers, Rodgers and his players could normally be expected to escape scrutiny for their own inability to start strongly, but this year an capital city challenger has joined the fray. Despite being obliged to operate with a budget that is not just a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have added the money and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the SPL equation. As well as investing ten million pounds during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has provided Hearts 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 discover unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at Tynecastle on Sunday sporting a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be seen celebrating each goal with the gusto of a person who had likely realized the oddsmakers had massively underestimated his team's prospects of beating the struggling champions, and placed large bets accordingly.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said bearded Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his team's latest victory, their eighth win in nine league matches. "It might be for those on the outside looking in. It might change opinions. It might validate views that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the lads have provided us. In terms of skill, we appear in a good place, and definitely in fitness we look in a good place, so long may that continue. Of course, this is not a situation that the team is accustomed to being in." No, Derek, it isn't. But the wonderful, analytics-backed truth is that for the first time in ages, Scottish football might actually have a championship battle that a team other than the traditional powers can win.