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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole unexpected aspect of Heart of Midlothian's victory over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was just how taken aback people seemed when news of the result and its impact for the top of the table circulated. Although this convincing victory at their home ground, which puts the Edinburgh side leading of the league and a significant margin ahead of Celtic, was earth-shattering in scale, no one who has been following the progress of either squad this campaign will have been in the least shocked by the final score.

Over the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish league between them, turning fitba to almost a punchline in the process. Nine games into the current campaign it has become clear that Hearts – who count celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their famous supporters – might just be prepared to make their move while the Glasgow duo iron is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

Although a lot of the attention in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the situation at Ibrox has resulted in that the title holders' slightly less terminal decay has been allowed to worsen unnoticed. The defending title winners have so far lost a considerable number from nine fixtures this term under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a individual who constantly consulting his schedule to find out 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 all my time at the club," he told the media following the defeat, after they had questioned his appetite for any kind of a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is present to attempt to reverse the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the horrific start to the campaign being experienced by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his men could typically be expected to get away with their own failure to roar out of the traps, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the mix. Despite being forced to operate with a budget that is not just a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have added the money and expertise of a renowned businessman to the SPL mix. In addition to putting in ten million pounds during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has granted Hearts sole use of his top secret analytics-based Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to discover hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at Tynecastle on matchday wearing a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be seen cheering each goal with the gusto of a man who had likely noticed the oddsmakers had massively underestimated his side's chances of beating the out-of-sorts champions, and filled his boots accordingly.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a statement win," said bearded Hearts gaffer the head coach after his team's latest success, their eighth win in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for those on the periphery. It could alter perceptions. It might validate opinions that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the players have given us. Technically, we appear in a strong position, and certainly in fitness we look in a good place, so we hope it persists. Naturally, it's not a position that the team is used to being in." Correct, Derek, it is not. But the wonderful, analytics-backed reality is that for the first time in ages, the Scottish game might genuinely have a championship battle that a team other than Celtic or Rangers can win.