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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole surprising aspect of Hearts' triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which surprised observers appeared when reports of the outcome and its impact for the top of the table circulated. While this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which leaves the Jambos leading of the league and eight points ahead of Celtic, was earth-shattering in nature, nobody who has been tracking the fortunes of either squad 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, reducing fitba to almost a punchline in the meantime. Several matches into the current campaign it has become apparent that Hearts – who count Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – could be prepared to strike while the Glasgow duo iron is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

While much of the focus in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being endured by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at their stadium has resulted in that Celtic's comparatively less severe decline has been able to fester below the radar. The reigning champions have already lost a considerable number from their opening nine fixtures this term under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has developed the distant look of a individual who constantly checking his schedule to see how many time are remaining until his deal ends, and awoke this day to learn the answer 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 doubted his desire for anything resembling a championship battle. "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

Considering the dreadful beginning to the campaign being experienced by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his players could normally be anticipated to get away with their own inability to start strongly, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the mix. In spite of being forced to operate with a budget that is not just a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the money and expertise of Tony Bloom to the SPL equation. In addition to putting in £10m during the summer, the Premier League figurehead 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 discover hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at their home venue on matchday sporting a club colours, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be observed celebrating each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had almost certainly realized the bookies had massively misjudged his side's prospects of defeating the out-of-sorts title holders, and filled his boots accordingly.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said bearded Hearts gaffer the head coach after his side's most recent victory, their eighth in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for others on the outside looking in. It could alter perceptions. It may confirm views that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the lads have provided us. In terms of skill, we look in a strong position, and definitely physically 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 is not. 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 the traditional powers can claim.