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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the only surprising aspect of Hearts' triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which surprised people seemed when news of the outcome and its impact for the top of the table emerged. Although this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which leaves the Jambos top of the table and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was seismic in nature, no one who has been tracking the fortunes of both team this campaign will have been in the least astonished by the result.

For each of the last 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish football between them, reducing fitba to something of a punchline in the meantime. Nine games into the current season it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – might just be prepared to strike while the Old Firm iron is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

Although a lot of the attention in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being suffered by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at their stadium has meant that Celtic's comparatively less severe decline has been able to fester unnoticed. The defending title winners have already dropped a considerable number from nine fixtures this season under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has acquired the distant look of a individual who can't stop checking his Google calendar to see how many days are left until his contract ends, and awoke this morning to discover the number is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time here," he informed reporters following the defeat, after they had doubted his appetite for anything resembling a title fight. "So the motivation is present to attempt to flip the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the horrific beginning to the season being experienced by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his men could normally be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own failure to roar out of the traps, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the fray. In spite of being forced to function with a war-chest that is not just a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have added the investment and expertise of Tony Bloom to the SPL equation. In addition to investing £10m during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has granted the club exclusive use of his highly confidential analytics-based Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to discover unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a modest car. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday sporting a club colours, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be seen cheering each score with the enthusiasm of a person who had almost certainly noticed the oddsmakers had massively misjudged his side's prospects of defeating the struggling title holders, and placed large bets accordingly.

COACH'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said bearded Hearts gaffer the head coach after his side's latest victory, their eighth win in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for those on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It may confirm views that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have given us. Technically, we look in a strong position, and certainly in fitness we look in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Of course, it's not a position that the team is accustomed to being in." Correct, the manager, it is not. 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.