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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the only unexpected element of Heart of Midlothian's victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was just how surprised people appeared when reports of the outcome and its impact for the summit of the table circulated. Although this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which leaves the Edinburgh side leading of the league and eight points clear of their rivals, was earth-shattering in nature, no one who has been tracking the progress of either team this campaign will have been in the least astonished by the final score.

For each of the past 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish league between them, reducing the beautiful game to almost a joke in the meantime. Several matches into the present campaign it has become apparent that Hearts – who number celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – could be ready to make their move while the Old Firm iron is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

Although much of the attention in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being suffered by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the situation at Ibrox has resulted in that the title holders' comparatively less severe decline has been allowed to worsen unnoticed. The defending title winners have already dropped a considerable number from their opening nine fixtures this term under their manager. The team's boss has acquired the distant look of a man who constantly consulting his schedule to find out how many days are left until his deal ends, and woke up this morning to discover the answer is 246.

"I've never worked harder in all my time here," he told the media following the loss, after they had doubted his desire for any kind of a championship battle. "So the motivation is there to attempt to flip the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the horrific beginning to the campaign being experienced by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his players could normally be expected to get away with their own failure to start strongly, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the fray. Despite being obliged to function with a war-chest that isn't so much a small portion of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the investment and expertise of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership mix. As well as investing ten million pounds during the off-season, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts exclusive use of his highly confidential analytics-based proprietary scouting player identification system.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has allowed 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 modest car. Spotted at Tynecastle on matchday wearing a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be observed celebrating each score with the enthusiasm of a person who had almost certainly realized the oddsmakers had greatly underestimated his team's chances of defeating the out-of-sorts title holders, and placed large bets accordingly.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said bearded Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his team's most recent victory, their eighth in nine league matches. "It might be for those on the periphery. It might change opinions. It may confirm opinions that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the lads have given us. Technically, we appear in a strong position, and certainly physically we look in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Naturally, this is not a situation that this club is used to being in." Correct, the manager, it is not. But the glorious, analytics-backed reality is that for the initial occasion in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a championship battle that a team besides Celtic or Rangers can win.