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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole unexpected element of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was just how taken aback observers appeared when reports of the outcome and its consequences for the summit of the table emerged. While this convincing victory at their home ground, which leaves the Jambos top of the table and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was seismic in scale, nobody who has been tracking the fortunes of either squad this season will have been in the least astonished by the result.

For each of the last four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish football between them, turning fitba to almost a punchline in the process. Nine games into the present campaign it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who number celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – could be prepared to strike while the Old Firm iron is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

Although much of the focus in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at their stadium has meant that Celtic's slightly less terminal decay has been able to worsen below the radar. The defending title winners have so far dropped a considerable number from nine league games this season under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a individual who can't stop consulting his schedule to see how many time are remaining until his contract ends, and awoke this day to learn the answer is 246.

"I've never worked harder in all my time at the club," he informed the media following the defeat, after they had doubted his desire for any kind of a championship battle. "So the motivation is there 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 season being endured by Rangers, Rodgers and his men could typically be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own failure to start strongly, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has joined 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 investment and expertise of a renowned businessman to the SPL equation. As well as putting in £10m during the off-season, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts sole use of his highly confidential analytics-based Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to unearth hidden talents 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 wearing a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be observed cheering each score with the enthusiasm of a person who had almost certainly noticed the oddsmakers had greatly misjudged his side's prospects of beating the out-of-sorts title holders, and filled his boots as a result.

COACH'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said bearded team manager Derek McInnes after his side's latest success, their eighth win in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for others on the outside looking in. It might change perceptions. It might validate opinions that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the lads have provided us. Technically, we look in a good place, and certainly physically we look 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, Derek, it is not. But the glorious, analytics-backed reality is that for the initial occasion in many years, the Scottish game might genuinely have a title race that a team other than the traditional powers can claim.