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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the sole surprising aspect of Hearts' victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was just how taken aback people seemed when reports of the result and its consequences for the summit of the table circulated. While this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which leaves the Edinburgh side leading of the league and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was seismic in scale, no one who has been following the fortunes of either team this season will have been in the least astonished by the final score.

For each of the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish football between them, turning fitba to something of a joke in the meantime. Several matches into the current season it has become apparent that Hearts – who number Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – might just be ready to strike while the Glasgow duo influence is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

While a lot of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at their stadium has meant that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been allowed to fester below the radar. The defending title winners have already dropped 10 points from their opening nine league games this term under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has acquired the distant look of a man who constantly consulting his schedule to see how many days are remaining until his deal ends, and woke up this day to discover the answer is 246.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure here," he informed reporters following the loss, after they had questioned his appetite for anything resembling a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is there to try and flip the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the dreadful beginning to the season being endured by Rangers, Rodgers and his players could typically be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own failure to start strongly, but this year an capital city challenger has entered the fray. In spite of being obliged to function with a budget that isn't so much a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the investment and expertise of a renowned businessman to the SPL equation. In addition to investing ten million pounds during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has granted the club exclusive use of his highly confidential analytics-based proprietary scouting player identification system.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect 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 lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at their home venue on matchday sporting a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be observed celebrating each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had likely realized the oddsmakers had greatly underestimated his team's prospects of defeating the struggling champions, and placed large bets accordingly.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a statement win," said bearded Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his team's most recent victory, their eighth win in nine league matches. "It might be for those on the outside looking in. It could alter opinions. It may confirm views that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have given us. Technically, we appear in a strong position, and definitely in fitness we look in a good place, 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, analytics-backed truth is that for the initial occasion in many years, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that a team other than the traditional powers can win.