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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the only surprising element of Hearts' triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which taken aback observers appeared when reports of the result and its consequences for the summit of the standings emerged. Although this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which puts the Edinburgh side top of the table and a significant margin ahead of their rivals, was earth-shattering in nature, no one who has been tracking the progress of either squad this season will have been even remotely shocked by the final score.

For each of the last 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish league between them, turning fitba to almost a punchline in the meantime. Nine games into the current season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who number Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their famous supporters – might just be prepared to make their move while the Glasgow duo influence is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

While a lot of the focus in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being endured by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at Ibrox has resulted in that the title holders' comparatively less severe decay has been allowed to fester unnoticed. The defending title winners have already lost 10 points from nine fixtures this term under their manager. The Celtic manager has acquired the distant look of a man who constantly checking his schedule to find out how many days are left until his deal expires, and awoke this day to discover the answer is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure at the club," he told reporters following the defeat, after they had questioned his appetite for any kind of a title fight. "Therefore the drive is there to attempt to flip the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the horrific start to the campaign being experienced by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his men could normally be expected to escape scrutiny for their own inability to start strongly, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the mix. In spite of being forced to function with a war-chest that isn't so much a small portion of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have added the money and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership equation. As well as investing £10m during the summer, the Brighton owner has provided Hearts sole use of his top secret analytics-based Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to unearth hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at their home venue on matchday wearing a club colours, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be observed celebrating each score with the gusto of a man who had likely noticed the oddsmakers had massively underestimated his side's prospects of beating the out-of-sorts title holders, and placed large bets accordingly.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his team's latest success, their eighth in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for those on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It might validate opinions that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have provided us. Technically, we appear in a strong position, and certainly in fitness we look in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Naturally, it's not a position that this club is used to being in." Correct, Derek, it is not. But the wonderful, data-driven reality is that for the initial occasion in ages, Scottish football might genuinely have a championship battle that somebody besides the traditional powers can win.