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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the sole surprising element of Heart of Midlothian's victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how surprised people appeared when news of the outcome and its impact for the summit of the standings circulated. While this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which puts the Jambos top of the table and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was earth-shattering in scale, no one who has been following the fortunes of both squad this season will have been in the least astonished by the final score.

For each of the last four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish league between them, turning the beautiful game to something of a joke in the process. Nine games into the present campaign it has become clear that Hearts – who number celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – could be prepared to strike while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

Although much of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the situation at their stadium has meant that Celtic's comparatively less severe decline has been allowed to worsen below the radar. The defending title winners have already dropped a considerable number from nine fixtures this season under their manager. The team's boss has developed the thousand-yard stare of a individual who constantly consulting his schedule to find out how many days are remaining until his deal ends, and awoke this day to learn the answer is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time at the club," he told the media 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 standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the dreadful start to the season being endured by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his players could normally be expected to get away with their own failure to start strongly, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the mix. Despite being forced 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 added the money and expertise of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership mix. As well as putting in £10m during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has granted the club exclusive use of his highly confidential analytics-based Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

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 Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at Tynecastle on Sunday wearing a club colours, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be seen celebrating each score with the enthusiasm of a man who had likely noticed the bookies had massively misjudged his team's chances of beating the out-of-sorts title holders, and filled his boots accordingly.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said bearded team manager Derek McInnes after his side's latest success, their eighth win in nine outings. "It might be for others on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It may confirm opinions that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the lads have given us. Technically, we appear in a strong position, and certainly physically we look in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Naturally, it's not a position that the team is used to being in." Correct, the manager, it isn't. But the glorious, analytics-backed truth is that for the first time in ages, the Scottish game might genuinely have a championship battle that somebody other than Celtic or Rangers can win.