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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the only surprising element of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which taken aback people appeared when reports of the outcome and its impact for the top of the table emerged. Although this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which puts the Jambos leading of the table and a significant margin ahead of Celtic, was earth-shattering in scale, no one who has been tracking the progress of either team this campaign will have been in the least shocked by the result.

Over the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish football between them, turning fitba to almost a joke in the process. Nine games into the current campaign it has become apparent that Hearts – who number celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their famous supporters – could be prepared to make their move while the Glasgow duo iron is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

Although a lot of the attention in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at their stadium has meant that Celtic's slightly less terminal decay has been allowed to fester below the radar. The defending title winners have so far dropped 10 points from nine league games this term under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has developed the distant look of a individual who constantly consulting his schedule to find out how many time are left until his deal expires, and woke up this morning to learn the number is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time at the club," he informed the media following the defeat, after they had questioned his appetite for anything resembling a title fight. "So the motivation is present to attempt to reverse the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the horrific beginning to the season being experienced by Rangers, Rodgers and his players could normally be expected to escape scrutiny for their own inability to roar out of the traps, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the fray. Despite being obliged to operate with a war-chest that isn't so much a small portion of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have added the investment and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the SPL equation. In addition to putting in £10m during the summer, the Brighton owner has provided Hearts sole use of his top secret analytics-based Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to unearth unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at their home venue on Sunday wearing a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be observed celebrating each goal with the enthusiasm of a man who had likely noticed the bookies had massively underestimated his side's chances of defeating the struggling title holders, and placed large bets as a result.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a statement win," said bearded team manager Derek McInnes after his team's latest victory, their eighth in nine league matches. "It might be for others on the outside looking in. It might change opinions. It may confirm opinions that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have given us. Technically, we look in a strong position, and certainly in fitness we seem in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Of course, this is not a situation that this club is used to being in." No, the manager, it is not. But the wonderful, analytics-backed truth is that for the initial occasion in many years, Scottish football might actually have a title race that a team besides Celtic or Rangers can claim.