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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the only unexpected aspect of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which taken aback people appeared when reports of the outcome and its consequences for the summit of the table circulated. While this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which puts the Jambos leading of the table and eight points ahead of their rivals, was earth-shattering in nature, no one who has been following the progress of either squad this season will have been even remotely astonished by the final score.

Over the past four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish football between them, turning fitba to something of a punchline in the process. Nine games into the present season it has become apparent that Hearts – who count celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – could be prepared to strike while the Glasgow duo influence is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

While a lot of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at their stadium has meant that the title holders' slightly less terminal decay has been able to worsen unnoticed. The defending title winners have already lost a considerable number from their opening nine league games this term under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has acquired the distant look of a man who can't stop consulting his Google calendar to see how many days are remaining until his contract ends, and awoke this day to learn the number is 246.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure here," he told the media following the defeat, after they had doubted his desire for anything resembling a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is present to try and reverse the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the dreadful beginning to the campaign being experienced by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his men could normally be anticipated to get away with their own inability to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has entered the fray. Despite being obliged to function with a war-chest that is not just a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have added the money and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership mix. In addition to putting in ten million pounds during the off-season, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts exclusive use of his highly confidential data-driven proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to discover unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a modest car. Spotted at their home venue on Sunday wearing a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be observed celebrating each score with the enthusiasm of a person who had likely noticed the bookies had massively underestimated his team's chances of defeating the out-of-sorts champions, and placed large bets as a result.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a statement win," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer the head coach after his side's most recent success, their eighth win in nine league matches. "It might be for those on the outside looking in. It might change perceptions. It might validate views that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the players have given us. Technically, we appear in a strong position, and definitely physically we look in a good place, so we hope it persists. Naturally, this is not a situation that this club is accustomed to being in." No, Derek, it is not. But the glorious, analytics-backed reality is that for the first time in many years, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that a team other than the traditional powers can win.