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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the only surprising element of Heart of Midlothian's victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which taken aback observers appeared when news of the result and its impact for the top of the standings emerged. Although this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which puts the Edinburgh side leading of the table and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was seismic in scale, nobody who has been following the fortunes of either team this season will have been in the least shocked by the result.

For each of the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to something of a punchline in the process. Nine games into the present season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – could be prepared to strike while the Old Firm iron is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

While much of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the situation at their stadium has meant that Celtic's comparatively less severe decline has been allowed to fester unnoticed. The reigning champions have so far lost 10 points from their opening nine league games this term under their manager. The Celtic manager has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a man who constantly consulting his schedule to find out how many days are left until his deal expires, and woke up this day to discover the number is 246.

"I've never worked harder in all my time at the club," he told the media following the defeat, after they had questioned his appetite for any kind of a title fight. "So the motivation is there to attempt to reverse the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the horrific beginning to the season being experienced by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his men could normally 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. Despite being forced to operate with a war-chest that is not just a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the investment and expertise of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership mix. In addition to investing £10m during the summer, the Brighton owner has provided Hearts exclusive use of his highly confidential analytics-based proprietary scouting player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to unearth hidden talents from Walsall, 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. Seen at their home venue on matchday wearing a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be observed celebrating each goal with the gusto of a man who had likely realized the bookies had greatly underestimated his team's chances of beating the out-of-sorts champions, and placed large bets as a result.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer the head coach after his side's most recent victory, their eighth in nine league matches. "It might be for others on the periphery. It might change opinions. It might validate views that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the players have given us. In terms of skill, we appear in a good place, and definitely in fitness we look in a good place, so long may that continue. Naturally, it's not a position that this club is used to being in." Correct, the manager, it isn't. But the glorious, analytics-backed reality is that for the first time in ages, Scottish football might actually have a championship battle that a team besides Celtic or Rangers can win.