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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the only unexpected element of Hearts' triumph over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which taken aback observers seemed when reports of the outcome and its impact for the summit of the standings emerged. While this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which leaves the Edinburgh side top of the league and a significant margin ahead of Celtic, was seismic in nature, no one who has been following the fortunes of either team this season will have been even remotely shocked by the result.

For each of the past 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish league between them, reducing fitba to almost a joke in the process. Nine games into the present campaign it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – might just be ready to strike while the Glasgow duo iron is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

Although a lot of the focus in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at their stadium has resulted in that the title holders' comparatively less severe decline has been allowed to fester below the radar. The reigning champions have already dropped 10 points from nine fixtures this term under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a individual who can't stop checking his Google calendar to see how many days are left until his deal ends, and woke up this day to discover the number is 246.

"I've never worked harder in all my time at the club," he informed the media following the defeat, after they had doubted his appetite for any kind of a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is there to try and reverse the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the dreadful start to the season being experienced by Rangers, Rodgers and his men could typically be anticipated to get away with their own failure to start strongly, but this year an capital city challenger has joined the mix. In spite of being obliged to function with a war-chest that isn't so much a small portion of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have introduced the money and expertise of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership equation. As well as putting in £10m during the summer, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts sole use of his highly confidential data-driven Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to discover unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday sporting a club colours, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be observed cheering each score with the enthusiasm of a person who had likely noticed the oddsmakers had greatly misjudged his side's chances of defeating the struggling title holders, and filled his boots as a result.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired team manager Derek McInnes after his side's latest success, their eighth win in nine outings. "It might be for others on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It may confirm views that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the lads have given us. Technically, we appear in a good place, and definitely in fitness we seem in a good place, so we hope it persists. Naturally, this is not a situation that the team is used to being in." No, the manager, it is not. But the wonderful, analytics-backed reality is that for the initial occasion in many years, Scottish football might actually have a championship battle that somebody besides Celtic or Rangers can win.