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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the only unexpected aspect of Hearts' victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was just how surprised observers appeared when news of the result and its consequences for the top of the table emerged. Although this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which puts the Edinburgh side leading of the league and eight points ahead of their rivals, was seismic in scale, no one who has been following the progress of both squad this campaign will have been in the least astonished by the final score.

Over the past 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish league between them, reducing the beautiful game to something of a joke in the process. Several matches into the present season it has become apparent that Hearts – who count celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – could be prepared to strike while the Old Firm influence is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

While much of the focus in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being endured by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at their stadium has resulted in that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been able to worsen unnoticed. The defending title winners have already dropped 10 points from their opening nine league games this season under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a individual who constantly checking his Google calendar to see how many days are left until his deal expires, and woke up this day to discover the answer is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time here," he informed reporters following the defeat, after they had questioned his appetite for anything resembling a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is there to try and flip the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the horrific beginning to the campaign being experienced by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his men could typically be anticipated to get away with their own failure to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the fray. In spite of being forced to operate with a budget that isn't so much a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have introduced the money and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the SPL equation. As well as putting in ten million pounds during the off-season, the Brighton owner has provided the club exclusive use of his top secret analytics-based Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to unearth hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a modest car. Spotted at Tynecastle on matchday wearing a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be seen celebrating each score with the enthusiasm of a person who had almost certainly noticed the bookies had greatly misjudged his side's prospects of beating the out-of-sorts champions, and placed large bets accordingly.

COACH'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said the facial-haired team manager the head coach after his team's most recent victory, their eighth in nine league matches. "It might be for others on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It might validate views that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have given us. In terms of skill, we appear in a good place, and certainly in fitness we look in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Of course, it's not a position that the team is accustomed to being in." Correct, Derek, it isn't. But the wonderful, data-driven reality is that for the initial occasion in ages, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that a team besides the traditional powers can claim.