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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the only unexpected element of Hearts' triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was just how taken aback people seemed when news of the outcome and its consequences for the top of the table emerged. While this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which leaves the Jambos leading of the league and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was seismic in nature, no one who has been following the fortunes of both team this campaign will have been in the least astonished by the final score.

For each of the last 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish football between them, reducing the beautiful game to something of a punchline in the process. Nine games into the present season it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who count celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – might just be ready to make their move while the Glasgow duo iron is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

Although much of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at Ibrox has meant that Celtic's slightly less terminal decay has been able to fester below the radar. The reigning champions have so far dropped a considerable number from nine league games this season under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has acquired the distant look of a man who constantly consulting his Google calendar to find out how many days are left until his deal expires, and awoke this morning to learn the number is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure here," he informed the media following the defeat, after they had doubted his appetite for anything resembling a championship battle. "So the motivation is present to attempt to reverse the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the horrific beginning to the campaign being endured by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his men could normally be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own inability to start strongly, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the fray. Despite being forced to operate with a budget that is not just a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have added the money and expertise of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership mix. In addition to investing £10m during the summer, the Brighton owner has provided the club sole use of his top secret analytics-based Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to discover unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a modest car. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday sporting a club colours, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be observed celebrating each goal with the gusto of a man who had likely noticed the bookies had massively misjudged his side's chances of defeating the struggling champions, and placed large bets as a result.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a statement win," said bearded Hearts gaffer the head coach after his team's most recent victory, their eighth win in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for those on the periphery. It could alter opinions. It might validate opinions that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the players have given us. In terms of skill, we look in a good place, and definitely in fitness we look in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Naturally, this is not a situation that this club is accustomed to being in." No, the manager, it isn't. But the glorious, data-driven truth is that for the initial occasion in ages, Scottish football might genuinely have a championship battle that somebody besides Celtic or Rangers can claim.