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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the only surprising element of Heart of Midlothian's victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how surprised people appeared when reports of the outcome and its consequences for the top of the standings circulated. While this convincing victory at their home ground, which leaves the Edinburgh side top of the table and eight points clear of their rivals, was seismic in nature, no one who has been tracking the fortunes of either team this season will have been in the least astonished by the final score.

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 the beautiful game to almost a punchline in the process. Nine games into the present season it has become clear that Hearts – who count celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – might just be prepared to strike while the Old Firm iron is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

While much of the focus in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the situation at Ibrox has meant that the title holders' comparatively less severe decline has been allowed to worsen below the radar. The reigning champions have so far lost a considerable number from their opening nine fixtures this season under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has developed the distant look of a individual who constantly checking his Google calendar to see how many time are left until his deal ends, and woke up this day to learn the answer is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure at the club," he told reporters following the loss, after they had questioned his appetite for anything resembling a title fight. "So the motivation is there to try and reverse the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the dreadful beginning to the season being experienced by Rangers, Rodgers and his players could typically be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own failure to roar out of the traps, but this year an capital city challenger has joined the mix. In spite of being obliged to function with a war-chest that is not just a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the investment and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the SPL equation. In addition to investing £10m during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has granted the club sole use of his top secret data-driven proprietary scouting player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to discover unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, 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 Tynecastle on matchday sporting a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be observed cheering each score with the gusto of a person who had likely realized the oddsmakers had greatly underestimated his side's prospects of beating the struggling champions, and filled his boots as a result.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer the head coach after his side's most recent success, their eighth win in nine league matches. "It might be for those on the outside looking in. It could alter opinions. It may confirm opinions that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the players have provided us. Technically, we appear in a good place, and certainly in fitness we look in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Naturally, this is not a situation that the team is used to being in." No, Derek, it isn't. But the glorious, data-driven truth is that for the first time in many years, Scottish football might actually have a championship battle that a team other than Celtic or Rangers can claim.