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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole unexpected aspect of Hearts' victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how taken aback observers seemed when news of the result and its impact for the top of the table circulated. Although this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which puts the Jambos leading of the table and a significant margin clear of their rivals, was seismic in nature, no one who has been tracking the progress of either squad this season will have been even remotely shocked by the final score.

Over the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish league between them, turning fitba to something of a punchline in the meantime. Several matches into the current campaign it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who number celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – could be prepared to strike while the Glasgow duo influence is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

Although a lot of the focus in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being suffered by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at Ibrox has meant that Celtic's comparatively less severe decline has been allowed to worsen below the radar. The reigning champions have already lost 10 points from their opening nine league games this term under their manager. The Celtic manager has acquired the distant look of a man who constantly consulting his Google calendar to find out how many days are remaining until his contract ends, and awoke this day to discover the answer is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in all my time here," he informed the media following the defeat, after they had questioned his desire for anything resembling a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is there to try and flip the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the dreadful beginning to the season being experienced by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his men could normally be anticipated to get away with their own failure to start strongly, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the fray. Despite being obliged to function with a budget that isn't so much a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have introduced the money and expertise of a renowned businessman to the SPL equation. As well as putting in £10m during the summer, the Brighton owner has provided Hearts exclusive use of his highly confidential analytics-based Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to discover hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a modest car. Seen at their home venue on matchday wearing a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be seen cheering each goal with the gusto of a man who had almost certainly noticed the bookies had massively underestimated his team's prospects of beating the out-of-sorts champions, and placed large bets as a result.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer the head coach after his side's latest victory, their eighth in nine league matches. "It might be for those on the outside looking in. It could alter perceptions. It might validate opinions that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the players have provided us. Technically, we look in a good place, and definitely in fitness we look in a good place, so we hope it persists. Of course, it's not a position that the team is used to being in." Correct, the manager, it isn't. But the glorious, analytics-backed reality is that for the first time in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that a team other than the traditional powers can claim.