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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the sole unexpected element of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which surprised people seemed when news of the result and its impact for the summit of the standings circulated. While this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which leaves the Edinburgh side top of the table and eight points clear of Celtic, was seismic in scale, no one who has been following the fortunes of either squad this season will have been even remotely shocked by the final score.

For each of the last four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to something of a punchline in the process. Several matches into the current season it has become clear that Hearts – who count celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – might just be ready to strike while the Old Firm iron is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

While much of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being suffered by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the situation at Ibrox has meant that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been allowed to worsen below the radar. The defending title winners have already lost a considerable number from their opening nine league games this term under their manager. The Celtic manager has developed the thousand-yard stare of a man who constantly checking his Google calendar to find out how many time are remaining until his deal ends, and woke up this morning to learn the answer is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure at the club," he told the media following the defeat, after they had questioned his desire for anything resembling a title fight. "Therefore the drive is there to try and flip the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the horrific start to the campaign being endured by Rangers, Rodgers and his players 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 fray. In spite of being obliged to function with a budget that is not just a small portion of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have introduced the money and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the SPL equation. As well as investing £10m during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has granted the club exclusive use of his highly confidential analytics-based Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to unearth unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a modest car. Spotted at their home venue on Sunday wearing a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be observed celebrating each goal with the gusto of a person who had likely noticed the bookies had massively misjudged his side's chances of defeating the struggling champions, and filled his boots accordingly.

COACH'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said bearded team manager Derek McInnes after his team's most recent success, their eighth win in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for others on the periphery. It could alter perceptions. It might validate opinions that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the lads have provided us. Technically, we appear in a good place, and certainly physically we look in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Of course, this is not a situation that this club is used to being in." Correct, Derek, it isn't. But the wonderful, analytics-backed reality is that for the initial occasion in many years, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that somebody besides the traditional powers can win.