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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the only surprising element of Hearts' victory over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was just how taken aback people seemed when reports of the result and its impact for the top of the table emerged. Although this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which puts the Edinburgh side top of the table and eight points clear of their rivals, was earth-shattering in scale, no one who has been tracking the fortunes of both squad this campaign will have been even remotely shocked by the result.

For each of the past 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to something of a joke in the process. Nine games into the present season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – might just be prepared to make their move while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

Although a lot of the focus in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being endured by Rangers, 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 unnoticed. The reigning champions have so far lost a considerable number from nine league games this season under their manager. The Celtic manager has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a man who can't stop consulting his schedule to find out how many days are remaining until his contract expires, and woke up this morning to learn the answer is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in all my time at the club," he informed the media following the loss, after they had questioned his desire for anything resembling a championship battle. "So the motivation is there to attempt to reverse the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the horrific start to the season being endured by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his men could normally be expected to get away with their own inability to start strongly, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the mix. In spite of being obliged to function with a war-chest that isn't so much a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have introduced the investment and expertise of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership mix. As well as investing £10m during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has granted Hearts exclusive use of his top secret data-driven proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga 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 exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a modest car. Spotted at their home venue on matchday sporting a club colours, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be seen celebrating each score with the gusto of a person who had likely realized the oddsmakers had greatly underestimated his team's chances of defeating the out-of-sorts title holders, and placed large bets accordingly.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer the head coach after his team's latest victory, their eighth in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for others on the outside looking in. It could alter perceptions. It might validate opinions that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the players have provided us. In terms of skill, we look in a good place, and certainly physically we seem in a good place, so we hope it persists. Of course, this is not a situation that this club is used to being in." No, Derek, it is not. But the wonderful, analytics-backed reality is that for the initial occasion in ages, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that a team other than Celtic or Rangers can claim.