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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole surprising element of Hearts' victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was just how taken aback observers seemed when news of the result and its consequences for the top of the table circulated. Although this convincing victory at their home ground, which leaves the Jambos top of the table and eight points ahead of Celtic, was seismic in scale, no one who has been following the progress of both squad this campaign will have been even remotely astonished by the final score.

For each of the last four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish football between them, reducing the beautiful game to something of a joke in the process. Nine games into the current season it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who number celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – might just be prepared to strike while the Glasgow duo iron is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

While much of the attention in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being endured by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the situation at Ibrox has meant that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been allowed to fester below the radar. The defending title winners have so far lost a considerable number from nine fixtures this season under their manager. The Celtic manager has acquired the distant look of a man who constantly consulting his schedule to see how many time are remaining until his deal expires, and awoke this morning to discover the answer is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure here," he told reporters following the loss, after they had doubted his desire for any kind of a title fight. "Therefore the drive is there to try and reverse the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the dreadful beginning to the campaign being endured by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his men could typically be anticipated to get away with their own inability to roar out of the traps, but this year an capital city challenger has joined the mix. In spite of being forced to function with a budget that isn't so much a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have introduced the investment and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the SPL mix. In addition to putting in £10m during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has granted Hearts sole use of his top secret data-driven Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to discover 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 total price of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday wearing a club colours, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be observed cheering each goal with the gusto of a person who had almost certainly noticed the bookies had greatly underestimated his team's prospects of beating the out-of-sorts title holders, and placed large bets as a result.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a statement win," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his team's most recent success, their eighth win in nine league matches. "It might be for others on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It may confirm views that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the lads have given us. Technically, we look in a good place, and certainly in fitness we look in a good place, so long may that continue. Naturally, it's not a position that the team is used to being in." No, Derek, it isn't. But the glorious, analytics-backed 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.