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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole surprising element of Hearts' triumph over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which surprised observers seemed when reports of the outcome and its consequences for the summit of the standings circulated. While this convincing victory at their home ground, which leaves the Jambos leading of the table and a significant margin ahead of their rivals, was earth-shattering in scale, no one who has been tracking the fortunes of both squad this season will have been even remotely shocked by the result.

Over the last 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish league between them, turning fitba to almost a joke in the process. Several matches into the present campaign it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who number Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – could be ready to strike while the Glasgow duo influence 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 full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at their stadium has resulted in that the title holders' slightly less terminal decay has been allowed to fester unnoticed. The reigning champions have already dropped 10 points from their opening nine fixtures this term under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has acquired the distant look of a man who constantly consulting his Google calendar to see how many days are remaining until his contract ends, and awoke this day to discover the answer is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time here," he told the media following the loss, after they had doubted his desire for any kind of a title fight. "So the motivation is there to attempt to reverse the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the dreadful beginning to the campaign being endured by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his men could typically be expected to escape scrutiny for their own inability to start strongly, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the fray. Despite being obliged to function with a war-chest that isn't so much a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have introduced the money and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership mix. As well as investing £10m during the summer, the Brighton owner has granted the club sole use of his highly confidential analytics-based Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to unearth hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at Tynecastle on Sunday wearing a club colours, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be seen cheering each score with the enthusiasm of a person who had likely realized the bookies had massively misjudged his team's chances of defeating the out-of-sorts champions, and filled his boots accordingly.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said bearded Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his side's most recent victory, their eighth win 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 let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the players have given us. In terms of skill, we appear in a strong position, and definitely physically we seem in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Of course, this is not a situation that this club is accustomed to being in." Correct, Derek, it isn't. But the wonderful, analytics-backed reality is that for the initial occasion in many years, Scottish football might actually have a title race that a team other than Celtic or Rangers can win.