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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole unexpected aspect of Heart of Midlothian's victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which surprised people appeared when reports of the outcome and its impact for the summit of the table emerged. Although this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Jambos top of the table and eight points ahead of Celtic, was seismic in scale, no one who has been tracking the fortunes of both squad this campaign will have been in the least shocked by the final score.

Over the past four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish league between them, turning the beautiful game to almost a punchline in the meantime. Nine games into the present campaign it has become clear that Hearts – who count Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – could be ready to make their move while the Glasgow duo iron is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

Although a lot of the focus in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the situation at Ibrox has resulted in that Celtic's comparatively less severe decline has been allowed to worsen unnoticed. The reigning champions have already dropped 10 points from their opening nine league games this term under their manager. The team's boss has developed the distant look of a individual who can't stop consulting his Google calendar to see how many time are left until his contract expires, and awoke this morning to learn the number is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time at the club," he told reporters following the defeat, after they had doubted his appetite for anything resembling a championship battle. "So the motivation is there to attempt to reverse the levels 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, Rodgers and his men could typically be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own failure to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the mix. Despite being forced to function with a budget that is not just a small portion of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have introduced the investment and expertise of Tony Bloom to the SPL mix. In addition to putting in ten million pounds during the summer, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts sole use of his top secret analytics-based proprietary scouting player identification system.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to discover unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, 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 professional gambler could be observed cheering each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had likely noticed the bookies had massively underestimated his side's prospects of defeating the struggling title holders, and placed large bets as a result.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a statement win," said the facial-haired team manager the head coach after his side's latest victory, their eighth win in nine league matches. "It might be for those on the periphery. It could alter opinions. It might validate opinions that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the players have provided 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. Of course, this is not a situation that the team is used to being in." No, Derek, it is not. But the glorious, analytics-backed reality is that for the initial occasion in ages, Scottish football might genuinely have a championship battle that a team other than the traditional powers can win.