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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole 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 summit of the table circulated. While this convincing victory at their home ground, which leaves the Edinburgh side top of the table and a significant margin clear of their rivals, was seismic in nature, nobody who has been following the progress of both team this campaign will have been in the least shocked by the result.

Over the last four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish league between them, turning fitba to almost a punchline in the process. Nine games into the current season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who number celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – could be ready to strike while the Old Firm influence is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

While much of the attention in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being suffered by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the situation at their stadium has resulted in that the title holders' comparatively less severe decline has been able to worsen below the radar. The defending title winners have so far dropped 10 points from their opening nine fixtures this season under their manager. The team's boss has developed the distant look of a individual who constantly consulting his Google calendar to find out how many time are left until his deal expires, and awoke this day to discover the answer is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure at the club," he informed reporters following the loss, after they had questioned his appetite for any kind of a title fight. "So the motivation is present to try and reverse the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the dreadful beginning to the campaign being experienced by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his players could typically be expected to escape scrutiny for their own failure to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the fray. Despite being forced to operate with a budget that is not just a small portion of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have introduced the money and expertise of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership equation. In addition to putting in ten million pounds during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has granted the club exclusive use of his top secret data-driven Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent 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 lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a modest car. Spotted at Tynecastle on Sunday wearing a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be observed celebrating each goal with the enthusiasm of a man who had likely noticed the bookies had massively misjudged his team's chances of defeating the out-of-sorts title holders, and placed large bets as a result.

COACH'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his side's most recent victory, their eighth win in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for others on the periphery. It could alter opinions. It may confirm opinions that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the players have given us. Technically, we look in a good place, and definitely in fitness we look in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Of course, it's not a position that this club is used to being in." Correct, the manager, it is not. But the glorious, data-driven reality is that for the first time in many years, the Scottish game might genuinely have a title race that a team other than Celtic or Rangers can win.