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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the only unexpected aspect of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was just how surprised people appeared when news of the result and its impact for the summit of the table emerged. While this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Jambos top of the league and eight points ahead of Celtic, was seismic in nature, no one who has been following the fortunes of both squad this campaign will have been even remotely shocked by the result.

Over the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish football between them, turning fitba to almost a punchline in the process. Nine games into the current season it has become apparent that Hearts – who count celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their famous supporters – could be ready to make their move while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

Although much of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the situation at their stadium has resulted in that the title holders' comparatively less severe decay has been able to fester below the radar. The reigning champions have so far dropped a considerable number from nine league games this season under their manager. The team's boss has developed the distant look of a man who constantly checking his Google calendar to see how many time are left until his deal expires, and woke up this day to discover the number is 246.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure here," he informed the media following the loss, after they had doubted his appetite for any kind of a championship battle. "So the motivation is there to attempt to flip the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the horrific beginning to the season being endured by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his men could typically be expected to get away with their own inability to start strongly, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the mix. Despite being obliged to operate with a budget that isn't so much a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the money and expertise of a renowned businessman to the SPL equation. As well as investing ten million pounds during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has granted Hearts sole use of his highly confidential data-driven Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to discover hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a modest car. Spotted at their home venue on Sunday wearing a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be observed celebrating each score with the enthusiasm of a man who had likely noticed the oddsmakers had greatly underestimated his side's prospects of beating the out-of-sorts champions, and placed large bets accordingly.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said bearded Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his side's most recent success, their eighth in nine league matches. "It might be for those on the periphery. 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 given us. Technically, we look in a strong position, and definitely physically we seem in a good place, so we hope it persists. Of course, this is not a situation that the team is used to being in." Correct, Derek, it is not. But the wonderful, analytics-backed truth is that for the first time in many years, the Scottish game might genuinely have a title race that somebody other than Celtic or Rangers can win.