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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the only surprising element of Heart of Midlothian's victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which surprised observers appeared when news of the result and its consequences for the top 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 their rivals, was earth-shattering in scale, no one who has been following the fortunes of both squad this campaign will have been in the least shocked by the final score.

For each of the last 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish league between them, reducing fitba to almost a joke in the meantime. Nine games into the current campaign it has become apparent that Hearts – who number Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – might just be ready to make their move while the Glasgow duo iron is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

Although much of the attention in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at Ibrox has meant that Celtic's comparatively less severe decay has been able to worsen below the radar. The reigning champions have so far dropped 10 points from their opening nine league games this term under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a man who can't stop consulting his Google calendar to see how many days are remaining until his deal ends, and awoke this day to discover the number is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure at the club," he informed reporters following the defeat, after they had questioned his desire for anything resembling a title fight. "Therefore the drive is there to attempt to reverse the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the horrific beginning to the campaign being experienced by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his men could typically be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own failure to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has joined the mix. Despite being forced to function with a budget that isn't so much a small portion of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the investment and expertise of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership equation. In addition to putting in ten million pounds during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has granted Hearts exclusive use of his highly confidential analytics-based proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to discover hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at their home venue on matchday sporting a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be observed celebrating each score with the gusto of a man who had likely realized the oddsmakers had massively misjudged his side's chances of defeating the out-of-sorts champions, and filled his boots as a result.

COACH'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a statement win," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his team's latest victory, their eighth in nine league matches. "It might be for others on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It may confirm opinions that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the lads have provided us. Technically, we appear in a good place, and certainly in fitness we seem in a good place, so we hope it persists. Of course, it's not a position that the team is used to being in." No, the manager, it is not. But the wonderful, analytics-backed reality is that for the first time in many years, the Scottish game might genuinely have a championship battle that a team besides the traditional powers can win.