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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the only surprising element of Hearts' triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which surprised people appeared when news of the outcome and its consequences for the summit of the standings emerged. While this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which puts the Edinburgh side top of the table and eight points clear of their rivals, was earth-shattering in scale, no one who has been following the progress 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 fitba to something of a joke in the process. Nine games into the current campaign it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – might just be ready to make their move while the Old Firm iron is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

While much of the attention in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at their stadium has meant that Celtic's comparatively less severe decay has been allowed to fester below the radar. The defending title winners have so far dropped 10 points from nine league games this term under their manager. The Celtic manager has developed the thousand-yard stare of a man who can't stop checking his schedule to find out how many time are remaining until his deal expires, and woke up this day to discover the number is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time at the club," he informed reporters following the defeat, after they had doubted his appetite for any kind of a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is present to try and reverse the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the horrific start to the campaign being experienced by Rangers, Rodgers and his men could normally be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own inability to start strongly, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the fray. In spite of being forced to operate with a war-chest that is not just a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the money and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the SPL equation. As well as putting in ten million pounds during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has provided Hearts exclusive use of his highly confidential data-driven Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to discover unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a modest car. Seen at Tynecastle on Sunday sporting a club colours, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be observed cheering each score with the enthusiasm of a person who had almost certainly noticed the bookies had greatly misjudged his team's prospects of defeating the struggling title holders, and placed large bets as a result.

COACH'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said bearded team manager the head coach after his team's latest victory, their eighth in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for others on the periphery. It could alter opinions. It might validate opinions that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the lads have given us. Technically, we look in a good place, and certainly in fitness we seem in a good place, so long may that continue. Naturally, this is not a situation that the team is used to being in." Correct, Derek, it isn't. But the wonderful, data-driven truth is that for the initial occasion in many years, Scottish football might actually have a championship battle that somebody besides the traditional powers can claim.