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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the only surprising aspect of Hearts' triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was just how surprised people seemed when reports of the result and its consequences for the summit of the table circulated. Although this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Jambos leading of the league and eight points clear of their rivals, was earth-shattering in nature, no one who has been tracking the fortunes of both team this season will have been in the least astonished by the result.

Over the last 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish league between them, reducing fitba to almost a joke in the meantime. Nine games into the present campaign it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – could be prepared to make their move while the Old Firm influence is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

Although much of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the situation at their stadium has resulted in that the title holders' comparatively less severe decline has been allowed to worsen unnoticed. The reigning champions have already dropped 10 points from nine league games this term under their manager. The team's boss has developed the distant look of a individual who can't stop consulting his schedule to see how many time are left until his contract ends, and woke up this day to discover the answer is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in all my time here," he informed the media following the defeat, after they had questioned his desire for any kind of a title fight. "So the motivation is present to try and flip the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the horrific start to the season being experienced by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his men could typically be expected to escape scrutiny for their own inability to start strongly, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered 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, Hearts have added the investment and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership mix. As well as investing £10m during the summer, the Brighton owner has granted the club sole use of his highly confidential data-driven proprietary scouting player identification system.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to discover unpolished gems 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 Tynecastle on matchday sporting a club colours, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be seen cheering each goal with the enthusiasm of a man who had likely realized the oddsmakers had massively underestimated his side's chances of beating the out-of-sorts champions, and placed large bets as a result.

COACH'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer the head coach after his team's most recent success, their eighth in nine outings. "It might be for others on the outside looking in. It might change opinions. It may confirm opinions that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the players have provided us. In terms of skill, we appear in a strong position, and definitely in fitness we seem 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 wonderful, analytics-backed truth is that for the initial occasion in ages, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that a team other than the traditional powers can claim.