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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the only surprising element of Hearts' victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how surprised people appeared when news of the result and its consequences for the top of the table circulated. While this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which leaves the Jambos leading of the table and a significant margin ahead of Celtic, was seismic in nature, nobody who has been following the progress of either squad this season will have been in the least shocked by the final score.

Over the past 40 seasons, 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 meantime. Nine games into the current season it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who count celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – might just be ready to make their move while the Glasgow duo iron is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

Although a lot of the focus in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered 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 allowed to fester below the radar. The defending title winners have so far dropped 10 points from nine fixtures this season under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a man who can't stop consulting his schedule to find out how many time are left until his contract ends, and woke up this day to discover the number is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time at the club," he told reporters following the loss, after they had questioned his desire for any kind of a championship battle. "So the motivation is present to attempt to flip the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the horrific beginning to the season being experienced by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his men could typically be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own failure to roar out of the traps, but this year an capital city challenger has entered the fray. Despite being forced to operate with a budget that isn't so much a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have added the investment and expertise of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership mix. As well as putting in £10m during the summer, the Brighton owner has granted the club sole use of his top secret data-driven proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to discover unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a modest car. Seen at Tynecastle on Sunday wearing a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be seen celebrating each score with the gusto of a person who had almost certainly noticed the bookies had massively underestimated his side's prospects of defeating the struggling champions, and placed large bets as a result.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired team manager the head coach after his team's latest success, their eighth win in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for those on the periphery. It might change 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 given us. Technically, we look in a good place, and certainly physically we seem in a good place, so we hope it persists. Naturally, it's not a position that this club is accustomed to being in." Correct, 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 somebody other than Celtic or Rangers can claim.