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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the only surprising element of Hearts' victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was just how surprised observers seemed when reports of the outcome and its impact for the summit of the table emerged. While this convincing victory at their home ground, which puts the Edinburgh side leading of the table and eight points clear of Celtic, was seismic in scale, no one who has been following the fortunes of either squad this campaign will have been in the least shocked by the result.

Over the last four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish league between them, turning fitba to almost a punchline in the meantime. Several matches into the present campaign it has become clear that Hearts – who number celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – could be prepared to make their move while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

While a lot of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at their stadium has meant that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been allowed to fester unnoticed. The reigning champions have already dropped a considerable number from their opening nine league games this season under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has acquired the distant look of a individual who constantly checking his Google calendar to find out how many days are left until his contract expires, and woke up this day to learn the number is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure here," he informed the media following the defeat, after they had doubted his appetite for any kind of a title fight. "Therefore the drive is there to attempt to reverse the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the dreadful beginning to the campaign being endured by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his men could typically be expected to escape scrutiny for their own failure to start strongly, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the fray. In spite of being obliged to function with a war-chest that isn't so much a small portion of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have added the money and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the SPL equation. In addition to investing £10m during the off-season, the Brighton owner has provided the club sole use of his top secret analytics-based Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to discover unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at their home venue on matchday sporting a club colours, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be observed celebrating each score with the gusto of a person who had almost certainly noticed the bookies had greatly misjudged his team's chances of beating the struggling champions, and filled his boots accordingly.

COACH'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said bearded Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his side's latest victory, their eighth win in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for those on the outside looking in. It could alter perceptions. It may confirm views that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the players have given us. Technically, we look in a good place, and definitely in fitness we seem in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Of course, it's not a position that the team is accustomed to being in." No, the manager, it isn't. But the glorious, data-driven truth is that for the first time in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a championship battle that a team besides Celtic or Rangers can claim.