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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the sole unexpected aspect of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which taken aback observers appeared when news of the result and its impact for the summit of the table circulated. While this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which puts the Jambos leading of the table and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was seismic in nature, no one who has been tracking the progress of both team this campaign will have been even remotely shocked by the result.

Over the last four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish football between them, reducing fitba to almost a joke in the meantime. Several matches into the current season it has become apparent that Hearts – who number Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their famous supporters – could be ready to strike while the Old Firm iron is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

While much of the focus in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being endured by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at Ibrox has resulted in that the title holders' comparatively less severe decay has been able to fester unnoticed. The reigning champions have so far dropped a considerable number from their opening nine fixtures this season 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 remaining until his contract expires, and awoke this morning to discover the number is 246.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure at the club," he informed the media following the defeat, after they had questioned his appetite for anything resembling a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is present to try and reverse the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the horrific beginning to the season being endured by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his men could typically be anticipated to get away with their own failure to roar out of the traps, but this year an capital city challenger has joined the mix. Despite being forced to operate with a war-chest that is not just a small portion of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have added the money and expertise of a renowned businessman to the SPL equation. In addition to investing £10m during the off-season, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts sole use of his top secret analytics-based Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to discover hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at Tynecastle on matchday wearing a club colours, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be observed celebrating each score with the enthusiasm of a person who had almost certainly realized the oddsmakers had massively underestimated his side's chances of defeating the struggling champions, and placed large bets accordingly.

COACH'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said the facial-haired team manager Derek McInnes after his team's most recent victory, their eighth in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for others on the periphery. It could alter opinions. It may confirm opinions 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 strong position, and definitely in fitness we look in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Naturally, this is not a situation that this club is accustomed to being in." Correct, the manager, it isn't. But the wonderful, analytics-backed truth is that for the initial occasion in many years, Scottish football might genuinely have a championship battle that somebody besides the traditional powers can win.