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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole unexpected element of Hearts' victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how taken aback observers seemed when news of the result and its impact for the top of the standings emerged. Although this convincing victory at their home ground, which leaves the Edinburgh side top of the table and eight points ahead of their rivals, was seismic in scale, nobody who has been following the fortunes of either squad this campaign will have been in the least astonished by the final score.

For each of the last four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish league between them, turning fitba to something of a joke in the process. Several matches into the present campaign it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who number celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – could be ready to strike while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

Although 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 meant that the title holders' slightly less terminal decline has been allowed to fester unnoticed. The reigning champions have so far lost 10 points from their opening nine fixtures this term under their manager. The Celtic manager has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a man who constantly checking his schedule to see how many days are remaining until his deal ends, and woke up this morning to learn the number is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time at the club," he told reporters following the loss, after they had doubted his desire for any kind of a championship battle. "So the motivation is there to attempt to reverse the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the dreadful start to the season being endured by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his men could typically be expected to get away with their own failure to start strongly, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has entered the fray. Despite being forced to function with a budget that is not just a small portion of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have added the investment and expertise of Tony Bloom to the SPL mix. In addition to putting in £10m during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has provided the club sole use of his highly confidential analytics-based Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to discover hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at Tynecastle on Sunday sporting a club colours, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be seen celebrating each goal 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 champions, and filled his boots as a result.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a statement win," said bearded team manager the head coach after his side's most recent victory, their eighth in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for those on the periphery. It could alter perceptions. It might validate views that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the lads have given us. Technically, we appear in a good place, and definitely physically we seem in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Of course, this is not a situation that this club is accustomed to being in." Correct, Derek, it isn't. But the glorious, data-driven truth is that for the initial occasion in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a championship battle that a team besides the traditional powers can win.