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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the only surprising aspect of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was just how taken aback people seemed when reports of the outcome and its consequences for the summit of the table emerged. Although this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Edinburgh side leading of the league and a significant margin clear of their rivals, was earth-shattering in scale, nobody who has been following the fortunes of either squad this campaign will have been even remotely astonished by the final score.

Over the past 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish league between them, reducing the beautiful game to something of a joke in the meantime. Nine games into the present season it has become clear that Hearts – who count Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their famous supporters – could be ready to make their move while the Old Firm iron is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

Although much of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being endured by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at Ibrox has meant that Celtic's slightly less terminal decay has been able to fester unnoticed. The reigning champions have so far lost 10 points from their opening nine league games this term under their manager. The Celtic manager has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a man who constantly consulting his Google calendar to find out how many days are remaining until his contract ends, and woke up this morning to learn the answer is 246.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure at the club," he told the media following the defeat, after they had questioned his desire for anything resembling a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is there to attempt to flip the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the dreadful start to the season being experienced by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his men could normally be anticipated to get away with their own failure to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the mix. In spite of being forced to function with a budget that is not just a small portion of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have added the investment and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership mix. In addition to putting in ten million pounds during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has provided the club sole use of his top secret data-driven Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to discover unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a modest car. Seen at Tynecastle on Sunday wearing a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be observed cheering each score with the gusto of a person who had almost certainly noticed the bookies had greatly underestimated his side's chances of defeating the struggling title holders, and placed large bets accordingly.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired team manager Derek McInnes 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 might validate opinions that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the players have provided us. Technically, we appear in a good place, and certainly physically we seem in a good place, so long may that continue. Of course, this is not a situation that this club is accustomed 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 genuinely have a championship battle that a team other than the traditional powers can claim.