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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the only surprising element of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which taken aback people seemed when reports of the result and its consequences for the top of the table emerged. While this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which leaves the Edinburgh side leading of the league and a significant margin clear of their rivals, was seismic in scale, no one who has been tracking the progress of either team this campaign will have been in the least shocked by the result.

Over the last 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish football between them, turning fitba to almost a joke in the process. Nine games into the present campaign it has become clear that Hearts – who count Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – could be ready to make their move while the Glasgow duo iron is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

Although a lot of the focus in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the situation at their stadium has resulted in that the title holders' slightly less terminal decay has been able to fester unnoticed. The defending title winners have already lost 10 points from their opening nine fixtures this season under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a man who constantly checking his schedule to see how many days are left until his contract expires, and woke up this day to learn the answer is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure at the club," he told the media following the loss, after they had doubted his desire for any kind of a title fight. "Therefore the drive is present to try and 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, the Celtic boss and his players could typically be expected to escape scrutiny for their own failure to start strongly, but this year an capital city challenger has entered the mix. Despite being obliged to operate with a budget that is not just a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have introduced the investment and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the SPL mix. As well as investing ten million pounds during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has granted Hearts sole use of his highly confidential analytics-based Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent 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 exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a modest car. Spotted at their home venue on Sunday sporting a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be observed cheering each score with the gusto of a man who had almost certainly realized the bookies had greatly underestimated his team's chances of defeating the struggling title holders, and filled his boots accordingly.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer the head coach after his side's most recent victory, their eighth in nine outings. "It might be for others on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It may confirm views that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the players have given us. Technically, we appear in a strong position, and definitely physically we look in a good place, so long may that continue. Of course, it's not a position that the team is used to being in." No, Derek, it is not. But the glorious, data-driven reality is that for the initial occasion in many years, Scottish football might actually have a title race that somebody other than the traditional powers can claim.