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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the only surprising element of Hearts' triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which taken aback people appeared when news of the result and its consequences for the summit of the table circulated. Although this convincing victory at their home ground, which puts the Jambos top of the league and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was seismic in nature, nobody who has been tracking the progress of either squad this season will have been even remotely shocked by the final score.

Over the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish football between them, turning fitba to something of a joke in the meantime. Nine games into the present campaign it has become apparent that Hearts – who number celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their famous supporters – could be prepared to strike while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

Although much of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at Ibrox has resulted in that the title holders' slightly less terminal decay has been able to worsen unnoticed. The defending title winners have so far dropped 10 points from their opening nine fixtures this season under their manager. The Celtic manager has developed the distant look of a individual who constantly consulting his schedule to see how many days are left until his contract ends, and woke up this day to discover the answer is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure at the club," he informed the media following the defeat, after they had questioned his appetite for anything resembling a title fight. "Therefore the drive is present to try and reverse the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the horrific beginning to the campaign being experienced by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his men could normally be expected to get away with their own failure to start strongly, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the fray. In spite of being forced to operate with a war-chest that isn't so much a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have added the investment and expertise of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership equation. In addition to putting in £10m during the off-season, the Brighton owner has provided Hearts exclusive use of his top secret data-driven proprietary scouting player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to discover hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a modest car. Spotted at their home venue on Sunday sporting a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be seen cheering each goal with the gusto of a man who had likely noticed the oddsmakers had massively underestimated his side's prospects of defeating the struggling title holders, and placed large bets accordingly.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a statement win," said bearded team manager Derek McInnes after his team's most recent success, their eighth win in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for others on the periphery. It could alter perceptions. It might validate opinions that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the players have provided us. In terms of skill, we look in a strong position, and certainly in fitness we seem in a good place, so long may that continue. Naturally, it's not a position that the team is used to being in." Correct, the manager, it isn't. But the glorious, data-driven truth is that for the initial occasion in many years, Scottish football might actually have a championship battle that a team other than Celtic or Rangers can win.