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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the sole unexpected aspect of Hearts' triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how surprised people appeared when reports of the outcome and its consequences for the summit of the table emerged. While this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which puts the Edinburgh side top of the table and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was seismic in nature, nobody who has been following the progress of both squad this season will have been even remotely shocked by the result.

For each of the last four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish league between them, reducing fitba to something of a joke in the process. Nine games into the current season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who number celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their famous supporters – might just be prepared to strike 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 endured by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the situation at their stadium has resulted in that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been allowed to worsen unnoticed. The defending title winners have already dropped a considerable number from their opening nine league games this term under their manager. The team's boss has developed the distant look of a man who can't stop checking his Google calendar to see how many time are left until his contract expires, and woke up this day to discover the number is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure at the club," he informed the media following the defeat, after they had doubted his desire for anything resembling a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is there to attempt to reverse the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the dreadful start to the season being endured by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his players 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 joined the fray. Despite being forced to operate with a budget that isn't so much a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have added the money and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership mix. 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 recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to discover unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a modest car. Spotted at Tynecastle on Sunday wearing a club colours, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be observed cheering each score with the enthusiasm of a person who had likely realized the bookies had greatly misjudged his team's chances of defeating the out-of-sorts title holders, and filled his boots as a result.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said bearded Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his side's most recent victory, their eighth win in nine league matches. "It might be for others on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It might validate views that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the lads have provided us. In terms of skill, we look in a good place, and certainly physically we look in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. 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 truth is that for the initial occasion in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that somebody other than Celtic or Rangers can win.