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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the only unexpected aspect of Hearts' victory over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was just how taken aback observers seemed when reports of the outcome and its consequences for the top of the table emerged. While this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which leaves the Edinburgh side leading of the table and a significant margin ahead of their rivals, was earth-shattering in scale, no one who has been tracking the fortunes of either squad this season will have been even remotely astonished by the final score.

For each of the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish football between them, reducing the beautiful game to something of a joke in the process. Nine games into the present season it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their famous supporters – could be prepared to make their move while the Glasgow duo iron is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

Although a lot of the attention in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at Ibrox has resulted in that Celtic's slightly less terminal decay has been allowed to worsen unnoticed. The defending title winners have so far dropped 10 points from their opening nine league games this season under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has developed the thousand-yard stare of a individual who constantly consulting his Google calendar to see how many time are left until his deal ends, and woke up this day to discover the number is 246.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure 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 present to attempt to flip the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the horrific beginning to the campaign being experienced by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his players could typically be expected to escape scrutiny for their own inability to start strongly, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has joined the fray. In spite of being forced to operate with a budget that is not just a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have introduced the investment and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership mix. In addition to investing ten million pounds during the off-season, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts exclusive use of his top secret data-driven Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to unearth hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a modest car. Spotted at their home venue on matchday wearing a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be observed celebrating each score with the enthusiasm of a man who had almost certainly noticed the bookies had greatly misjudged his team's chances of defeating the out-of-sorts title holders, and filled his boots as a result.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said bearded Hearts gaffer the head coach after his team's most recent victory, their eighth in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for others on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It might validate opinions that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have given us. In terms of skill, we appear in a good place, and definitely in fitness we seem in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Of course, it's not a position that the team is used to being in." No, the manager, it isn't. But the wonderful, data-driven reality is that for the first time in many years, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that somebody other than Celtic or Rangers can claim.