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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the only surprising aspect of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which surprised observers appeared when reports of the result and its consequences for the top of the table emerged. Although this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which leaves the Edinburgh side leading of the table and eight points clear of their rivals, was seismic in nature, no one who has been tracking the progress of either team this season will have been even remotely astonished by the final score.

For each of the last 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish league between them, reducing the beautiful game to almost a joke in the meantime. Nine games into the current season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who number celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their famous supporters – might just be prepared to strike while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

Although a lot of the focus in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being suffered by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the situation at their stadium has meant that the title holders' comparatively less severe decay has been allowed to fester below the radar. The reigning champions have already dropped 10 points from nine fixtures this term under their manager. The Celtic manager has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a man who constantly checking his Google calendar to see how many time are left until his deal expires, and woke up this morning to discover the number is 246.

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

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the horrific start to the season being experienced by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his men could normally be expected to escape scrutiny for their own failure 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, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the money and expertise of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership equation. In addition to investing ten million pounds during the summer, the Brighton owner has granted the club sole use of his top secret analytics-based Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to discover unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at their home venue on matchday sporting a club colours, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be observed cheering each goal with the enthusiasm of a man who had almost certainly noticed the oddsmakers had greatly misjudged his side's chances of beating the out-of-sorts champions, 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 latest victory, their eighth win in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for others on the periphery. It could alter opinions. It may confirm views that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the players have given us. Technically, we look in a good place, and certainly physically we look in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Naturally, it's not a position that this club is accustomed to being in." No, the manager, it is not. But the glorious, analytics-backed truth is that for the initial occasion in many years, the Scottish game might genuinely have a title race that a team other than Celtic or Rangers can win.