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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the sole surprising element of Hearts' victory over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which taken aback observers appeared when reports of the outcome and its impact for the summit of the table emerged. Although this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which leaves the Edinburgh side leading of the league and eight points ahead of Celtic, was seismic in scale, no one who has been tracking the progress of either squad this season will have been even remotely shocked by the final score.

For each of the past four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish league between them, reducing fitba to something of a punchline in the meantime. Nine games into the current season it has become clear that Hearts – who count celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their famous supporters – might just be ready to make their move while the Glasgow duo influence is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

Although much of the focus in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at Ibrox has resulted in that Celtic's comparatively less severe decay has been allowed to fester unnoticed. The reigning champions have already dropped a considerable number from nine league games this term under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has developed the thousand-yard stare of a man who can't stop consulting his schedule to see how many time are left until his contract expires, and awoke this day to learn the answer is 246.

"I've never worked harder in all my time at the club," he told reporters 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. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the dreadful start to the season being experienced by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his players could normally be expected to escape scrutiny for their own inability to start strongly, but this year an capital city challenger has entered the fray. Despite being obliged to function with a war-chest that is not just a small portion of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the investment and expertise of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership equation. In addition to putting in £10m during the off-season, the Brighton owner has granted the club exclusive use of his top secret data-driven Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to unearth hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday wearing a club colours, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be seen cheering each score with the enthusiasm of a man who had likely realized the oddsmakers had greatly underestimated his team's prospects of defeating the out-of-sorts champions, and placed large bets accordingly.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said bearded Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his team's most recent success, their eighth win in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for others on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It may confirm opinions that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the players have given us. In terms of skill, we appear in a good place, and certainly in fitness we seem in a good place, so long may that continue. Naturally, this is not a situation that the team is accustomed to being in." No, the manager, it isn't. But the wonderful, data-driven reality is that for the initial occasion in ages, Scottish football might actually have a championship battle that a team other than Celtic or Rangers can claim.