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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the sole unexpected aspect of Hearts' triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was just how surprised observers appeared when reports of the outcome and its consequences for the top of the standings emerged. While this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which leaves the Edinburgh side leading of the table and eight points clear of their rivals, was earth-shattering in scale, nobody who has been following the progress of both squad this campaign will have been even remotely shocked by the final score.

For each of the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish league between them, reducing the beautiful game to almost a joke in the process. Several matches into the current season it has become clear that Hearts – who count celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – could be prepared to make their move while the Glasgow duo iron is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

While much of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being suffered by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at Ibrox has resulted in that Celtic's comparatively less severe decline has been allowed to fester below the radar. The reigning champions have already dropped a considerable number from nine fixtures this term under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has developed the thousand-yard stare of a man who can't stop consulting his schedule to see how many days are remaining until his contract expires, and woke up this morning to learn the answer is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in all my time at the club," he informed reporters following the defeat, after they had questioned his appetite for any kind of a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is present to attempt to reverse the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the horrific start to the season being experienced by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his players could normally be anticipated to get away with their own failure to start strongly, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has joined the mix. Despite being obliged to operate with a war-chest 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 knowledge of Tony Bloom to the SPL mix. As well as putting in ten million pounds during the summer, the Brighton owner has provided the club sole use of his highly confidential analytics-based proprietary scouting player identification system.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to unearth hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday sporting a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be observed celebrating each score with the gusto of a man who had likely realized the oddsmakers had massively underestimated his side's prospects of beating the out-of-sorts champions, and placed large bets as a result.

COACH'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said bearded Hearts gaffer the head coach after his team's most recent victory, their eighth win in nine league matches. "It might be for others on the periphery. It might change opinions. It may confirm opinions that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the lads have given us. Technically, we appear in a strong position, 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, Derek, it is not. But the wonderful, analytics-backed truth is that for the initial occasion in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that a team other than the traditional powers can claim.