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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the sole surprising aspect of Hearts' victory over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was just how taken aback people seemed when reports of the result and its consequences for the summit of the table circulated. Although this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which puts the Jambos leading of the table and a significant margin ahead of their rivals, was seismic in nature, no one who has been following the fortunes of either team this campaign will have been in the least shocked by the result.

For each of the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to almost a joke in the meantime. Several matches into the present season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – might just be prepared to strike while the Glasgow duo iron is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

Although much of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at Ibrox has meant that Celtic's comparatively less severe decline has been allowed to fester unnoticed. The defending title winners have already lost 10 points from their opening nine league games this term under their manager. The Celtic manager has acquired the distant look of a individual who constantly checking his Google calendar to find out how many days are remaining until his contract expires, and woke up this morning to discover the number is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure here," he told the media following the loss, after they had questioned his appetite for any kind of a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is there to attempt to flip the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the horrific beginning to the season being experienced by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers 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 entered the mix. Despite being obliged to function with a budget that isn't so much a small portion of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have introduced the investment and expertise of Tony Bloom to the SPL equation. In addition to putting in ten million pounds during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has granted the club sole use of his highly confidential analytics-based proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to unearth hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a modest car. Spotted at their home venue on Sunday wearing a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be seen celebrating each score with the enthusiasm of a person who had likely realized the bookies had massively underestimated his side's prospects of defeating the struggling title holders, and placed large bets as a result.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a statement win," said bearded team manager the head coach after his side's most recent success, their eighth in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for others on the outside looking in. It could alter opinions. It may confirm views 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 strong position, and certainly physically we look in a good place, so long may that continue. Of course, this is not a situation that this club is used to being in." No, Derek, it is not. But the wonderful, analytics-backed reality is that for the initial occasion in many years, Scottish football might genuinely have a championship battle that a team besides the traditional powers can win.