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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the only surprising element of Hearts' triumph over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was just how taken aback observers seemed when reports of the result and its consequences for the top of the table circulated. Although this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which puts the Edinburgh side top of the table and eight points clear of their rivals, was earth-shattering in nature, nobody who has been tracking the fortunes of both squad this campaign will have been in the least shocked by the final score.

Over the past four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish football between them, reducing fitba to almost a joke in the meantime. Several matches into the current campaign it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who number celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – might just be prepared to make their move while the Old Firm influence is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

While a lot of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the situation at Ibrox has resulted in that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been able to worsen below the radar. The reigning champions have already dropped 10 points from their opening nine fixtures this season under their manager. The team's boss has developed the thousand-yard stare of a individual who constantly consulting his Google calendar to find out how many days are left until his contract ends, and woke up this morning to discover the answer is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time at the club," he told reporters following the defeat, after they had doubted his desire for any kind of a championship battle. "So the motivation is present to try and reverse the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the horrific beginning to the season being endured by Rangers, Rodgers and his men could normally be expected 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 obliged to function with a war-chest that isn't so much a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have introduced the money and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the SPL equation. As well as investing ten million pounds during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has provided the club sole use of his top secret data-driven Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to unearth hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at their home venue on Sunday wearing a club colours, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be seen celebrating each score with the enthusiasm of a man who had almost certainly noticed the oddsmakers had massively misjudged his team's chances of defeating the out-of-sorts champions, and placed large bets accordingly.

COACH'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a statement win," said bearded team manager the head coach after his side's latest success, their eighth in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for those on the outside looking in. It might change opinions. It may confirm opinions that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the lads have given us. In terms of skill, we look in a good place, and certainly physically we seem in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Naturally, this is not a situation that this club is accustomed to being in." Correct, the manager, it is not. But the glorious, analytics-backed truth is that for the initial occasion in ages, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that somebody other than the traditional powers can claim.