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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole unexpected aspect of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was just how taken aback people seemed when news of the outcome and its consequences for the summit of the standings circulated. While this convincing victory at their home ground, which puts the Edinburgh side leading of the table and eight points ahead of their rivals, was earth-shattering in nature, no one who has been following the progress of either team this season will have been in the least astonished by the result.

For each of the past four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish league between them, reducing fitba to something of a punchline in the process. Several matches into the current campaign it has become apparent that Hearts – who count celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – could be prepared to strike while the Old Firm iron is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

While much of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being endured by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the situation at their stadium has resulted in that Celtic's slightly less terminal decay has been allowed to fester below the radar. The defending title winners have so far lost 10 points from their opening nine league games this season under their manager. The team's boss has developed the thousand-yard stare of a individual who can't stop checking his Google calendar to find out how many time are left until his deal ends, and woke up this day to discover the answer is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure at the club," he told the media following the loss, after they had doubted his desire for anything resembling a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is present 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 campaign being experienced by Rangers, Rodgers and his players could typically be expected to escape scrutiny for their own inability to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has joined the mix. In spite of being obliged to operate with a budget that isn't so much a small portion of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have added the investment and expertise of Tony Bloom to the SPL mix. In addition to putting in ten million pounds during the off-season, the Brighton owner has provided Hearts sole use of his top secret data-driven proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to unearth unpolished gems from Walsall, 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 their home venue on matchday wearing a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be seen celebrating each score with the gusto of a person who had almost certainly noticed the oddsmakers had greatly underestimated his side's chances of defeating the out-of-sorts champions, and placed large bets as a result.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his team's most recent success, their eighth win in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for those on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It might validate views that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the lads have given us. Technically, we appear in a strong position, and certainly in fitness we look in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Of course, this is not a situation that this club is accustomed to being in." No, the manager, it is not. But the wonderful, analytics-backed truth is that for the first time in many years, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that a team other than the traditional powers can win.