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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the sole unexpected aspect of Hearts' triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how surprised observers seemed when reports of the outcome and its impact for the top of the standings emerged. While this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which leaves the Edinburgh side leading of the league and a significant margin ahead of Celtic, was earth-shattering in scale, no one who has been following the progress of either team this season will have been in the least astonished by the final score.

Over the last four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish football 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 count Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their famous supporters – might just be prepared to strike while the Old Firm iron is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

While much of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at Ibrox has meant that Celtic's slightly less terminal decay has been allowed to worsen below the radar. The defending title winners have already dropped 10 points from nine league games this season under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has developed the thousand-yard stare of a man who can't stop checking his Google calendar to find out how many time are left until his deal ends, and awoke this morning to discover the answer is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure here," he informed reporters following the loss, after they had questioned his desire for anything resembling a title fight. "So the motivation is present to attempt to flip the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the horrific beginning to the campaign being endured by Rangers, Rodgers and his men could typically be anticipated to get away with their own inability to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the mix. In spite of being forced to function with a budget that is not just a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have added the money and expertise of Tony Bloom to the SPL mix. As well as putting in ten million pounds during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has provided the club sole use of his highly confidential data-driven proprietary scouting player identification system.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to discover unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday sporting a club colours, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be observed celebrating each score with the enthusiasm of a man who had likely realized the bookies had massively misjudged his team's chances of beating the struggling title holders, and filled his boots as a result.

COACH'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired team manager Derek McInnes after his side's most recent success, their eighth in nine outings. "It might be for those on the outside looking in. It might change opinions. It may confirm views that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the players have provided us. Technically, we appear in a strong position, and certainly physically we look in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Naturally, this is not a situation that this club is used to being in." No, Derek, it is not. But the wonderful, data-driven reality is that for the initial occasion in ages, Scottish football might actually have a championship battle that a team other than the traditional powers can claim.