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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the sole unexpected element of Hearts' victory over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was just how taken aback people appeared when reports of the result and its consequences for the summit of the table circulated. While this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which puts the Edinburgh side leading of the table and a significant margin ahead of their rivals, was earth-shattering in scale, nobody who has been tracking the progress of either squad this season will have been even remotely shocked by the final score.

Over the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish league between them, reducing the beautiful game to something of a joke in the meantime. Nine games into the current season it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – could be ready to strike while the Glasgow duo iron is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

Although a lot of the focus in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being endured by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at their stadium has meant that Celtic's comparatively less severe decay has been able to fester below the radar. The reigning champions have already lost 10 points from nine fixtures this season under their manager. The Celtic manager has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a individual who can't stop checking his schedule to see how many days are left until his deal expires, and woke up this day to discover the number is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time here," he told reporters following the defeat, after they had doubted his appetite for anything resembling a title fight. "Therefore the drive is there to attempt to reverse the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the horrific beginning to the campaign being experienced by Rangers, Rodgers and his men could typically be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own inability to start strongly, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has joined the mix. Despite being obliged to function with a budget that isn't so much a small portion of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have added the money and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the SPL equation. In addition to investing ten million pounds during the off-season, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts sole use of his highly confidential data-driven Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to unearth unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a modest car. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday wearing a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be seen celebrating each score with the enthusiasm of a person who had almost certainly realized the bookies had greatly misjudged his team's chances of beating the out-of-sorts champions, and filled his boots accordingly.

COACH'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said the facial-haired team manager the head coach after his team's most recent victory, their eighth in nine league matches. "It might be for others on the outside looking in. It might change perceptions. It might validate opinions that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the lads have provided us. Technically, we appear in a good place, and certainly in fitness we look in a good place, so we hope it persists. Of course, it's not a position that this club is accustomed to being in." No, Derek, it isn't. But the wonderful, analytics-backed truth is that for the first time in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that a team besides Celtic or Rangers can win.