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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the only surprising aspect of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was just how taken aback observers appeared when reports of the outcome and its consequences for the summit of the table circulated. Although this 3-1 win at their home ground, which leaves the Edinburgh side top of the league and eight points ahead of Celtic, was earth-shattering in scale, no one who has been tracking the fortunes of either team this campaign will have been even remotely astonished by the final score.

For each of the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish football between them, reducing fitba to something of a punchline in the process. Nine games into the present campaign it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – could be ready to strike while the Glasgow duo iron is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

While a lot of the focus in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being endured by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at their stadium has resulted in that Celtic's comparatively less severe decay has been allowed to worsen below the radar. The reigning champions have already lost a considerable number from nine fixtures this season under their manager. The Celtic manager has acquired the distant look of a man who can't stop consulting his Google calendar to find out how many time are remaining until his contract ends, and woke up this morning to learn the answer is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure at the club," he told the media following the defeat, after they had questioned his desire for anything resembling a championship battle. "So the motivation is present to try and reverse the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the dreadful beginning to the season being experienced by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his men could typically be expected to escape scrutiny for their own inability to start strongly, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has entered the fray. Despite being obliged to function with a budget that isn't so much a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have introduced the money and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership equation. As well as putting in ten million pounds during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has granted the club sole use of his highly confidential analytics-based proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to unearth hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at Tynecastle on Sunday sporting a club colours, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be observed celebrating each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had likely noticed the bookies had massively underestimated his team's prospects of defeating the struggling champions, and placed large bets as a result.

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 league matches. "Perhaps it is for others on the outside looking in. It could alter opinions. It may confirm opinions that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the players have provided us. Technically, we appear in a strong position, and definitely in fitness 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." No, the manager, it is not. But the wonderful, analytics-backed truth is that for the first time in ages, Scottish football might genuinely have a championship battle that somebody besides the traditional powers can win.