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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 surprised people appeared when news of the result and its impact for the top of the table 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 scale, nobody who has been following the fortunes of either team this campaign will have been even remotely shocked by the final score.

Over the last 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish league between them, turning the beautiful game to almost a punchline in the process. Nine games into the current season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who number Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – might just be ready to make their move while the Glasgow duo influence is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

While much of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at Ibrox has resulted in that the title holders' comparatively less severe decay has been able to worsen unnoticed. The defending title winners have already lost 10 points from nine fixtures this term under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has developed the thousand-yard stare of a man who can't stop checking his Google calendar to see how many time are left until his deal ends, and awoke this day to learn the number is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure at the club," he told reporters following the defeat, after they had questioned his appetite for any kind of a title fight. "Therefore the drive is there to try and reverse the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the horrific start to the season being experienced by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his men could typically be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own inability to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has joined the mix. In spite of being forced to operate with a war-chest that isn't so much a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have added the money and expertise of a renowned businessman to the SPL equation. As well as putting in £10m during the off-season, the Brighton owner has provided Hearts sole use of his highly confidential analytics-based proprietary scouting player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to unearth unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a modest car. Seen at their home venue on Sunday sporting a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be observed celebrating each score with the gusto of a man who had likely noticed the bookies had greatly underestimated his side's chances of defeating the out-of-sorts title holders, and filled his boots accordingly.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said bearded Hearts gaffer the head coach after his side's latest victory, their eighth win in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for those on the outside looking in. It might change perceptions. It might validate opinions that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have provided us. In terms of skill, we look in a good place, and certainly in fitness we seem in a good place, so long may that continue. Naturally, it's not a position that the team is used to being in." Correct, Derek, it is not. But the glorious, data-driven reality is that for the first time in many years, Scottish football might actually have a championship battle that somebody besides the traditional powers can claim.