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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the only surprising aspect of Hearts' triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which taken aback people appeared when news of the result and its impact for the top of the table emerged. While this 3-1 win at their home ground, which leaves the Jambos top of the league and eight points clear of their rivals, was earth-shattering in scale, no one who has been tracking the fortunes of both team this campaign will have been even remotely shocked by the final score.

For each of the past four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to something of a joke in the process. Nine games into the present campaign it has become clear that Hearts – who number celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their famous supporters – could be prepared to strike while the Glasgow duo iron is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

Although a lot 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 resulted in that Celtic's comparatively less severe decline has been able to worsen unnoticed. The reigning champions have already lost 10 points from their opening nine league games this term under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has developed the distant look of a man who can't stop consulting his Google calendar to see how many days are left until his contract expires, and awoke this day to discover 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 doubted his desire for any kind of a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is present to try and flip the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the horrific start to the campaign being experienced by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his players could normally be expected to get away with their own failure to roar out of the traps, but this year an capital city challenger has entered the fray. Despite being obliged to function with a war-chest that is not just a small portion of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have added the investment and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the SPL mix. In addition to investing £10m during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has provided the club exclusive use of his highly confidential data-driven proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to discover unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a modest car. Seen at their home venue on Sunday wearing a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be seen cheering each goal with the gusto of a person who had likely realized the oddsmakers had greatly underestimated his team's chances of beating the out-of-sorts title holders, and filled his boots as a result.

COACH'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 win in nine outings. "It might be for those on the periphery. It might change opinions. It may confirm views that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the players have provided us. In terms of skill, we look in a good place, and definitely physically we seem in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Of course, this is not a situation that the team is used to being in." Correct, the manager, it is not. But the wonderful, analytics-backed truth is that for the first time in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that a team besides the traditional powers can win.