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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole surprising element of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was just how surprised observers appeared when reports of the outcome and its impact for the top of the table emerged. Although this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which puts the Edinburgh side top of the league and eight points ahead of their rivals, was earth-shattering in nature, nobody who has been tracking the progress of either team this campaign will have been in the least shocked by the result.

Over the past four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish football between them, turning fitba to something of a joke in the meantime. Nine games into the present season it has become clear that Hearts – who count Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their famous supporters – might just be prepared to make their move while the Glasgow duo influence is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

Although much of the focus in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at their stadium 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 a considerable number from nine league games this term under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has developed the distant look of a individual who can't stop consulting his Google calendar to find out how many time are remaining until his contract ends, and woke up this morning to learn the answer is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time here," he informed reporters following the loss, after they had doubted his desire for anything resembling a title fight. "So the motivation is there to try and reverse the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the dreadful start to the campaign being experienced by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his men could normally be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own inability to start strongly, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the fray. Despite being forced to function with a war-chest that isn't so much a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have introduced the money and expertise of a renowned businessman to the SPL equation. As well as investing ten million pounds during the summer, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts sole use of his highly confidential data-driven proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to unearth unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday wearing a club colours, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be seen cheering each score with the gusto of a person who had likely realized the bookies had massively misjudged his side's prospects of defeating the out-of-sorts title holders, and filled his boots accordingly.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired team manager Derek McInnes after his team's most recent success, their eighth win in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for those on the outside looking in. It could alter perceptions. It might validate views that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the lads have provided us. In terms of skill, we look in a good place, and definitely physically we look in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Naturally, this is not a situation that this club is accustomed to being in." Correct, Derek, it isn't. But the wonderful, analytics-backed truth 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 claim.