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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the sole surprising element of Hearts' victory over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which taken aback observers seemed when reports of the outcome and its impact for the top of the standings circulated. Although this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which puts the Edinburgh side top of the league and eight points clear of Celtic, was seismic in scale, no one who has been tracking the progress of both team this campaign will have been even remotely astonished by the final score.

Over the past 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish football between them, reducing fitba to something of a punchline in the meantime. Several matches into the current campaign it has become apparent that Hearts – who number celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – could be ready to strike while the Glasgow duo influence is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

Although much of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being suffered by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at their stadium has meant that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been able to fester below the radar. The defending title winners have already dropped a considerable number from their opening nine fixtures this term under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has acquired the distant look of a individual who can't stop consulting his schedule to find out how many time are left until his contract ends, and awoke this day to discover the number is 246.

"I've never worked harder in all my time here," he informed reporters following the loss, after they had questioned his appetite for any kind of 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 beginning to the campaign being endured by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his men could normally be expected to escape scrutiny for their own inability to start strongly, but this year an capital city challenger has joined 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 comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have added the money and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the SPL mix. In addition to putting in £10m during the off-season, the Brighton owner has granted the club exclusive use of his top secret analytics-based Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to unearth hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a modest car. Spotted at their home venue on matchday sporting a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be seen cheering each score with the enthusiasm of a man who had almost certainly noticed the bookies had massively underestimated his side's prospects of defeating the struggling title holders, and placed large bets accordingly.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired team manager Derek McInnes after his side's most recent success, their eighth in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for those on the outside looking in. It might change perceptions. It might validate views that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the players have provided us. In terms of skill, we look in a strong position, and certainly in fitness we look in a good place, so long may that continue. Of course, it's not a position that this club is accustomed to being in." No, Derek, it is not. But the glorious, data-driven truth is that for the initial occasion in ages, Scottish football might actually have a title race that somebody besides Celtic or Rangers can win.