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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the only unexpected element of Hearts' triumph over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which taken aback people seemed when news of the result and its impact for the summit of the table emerged. Although this convincing victory at their home ground, which leaves the Edinburgh side leading of the table and a significant margin clear of their rivals, was earth-shattering in scale, nobody who has been tracking the progress of either squad this season will have been even remotely astonished by the final score.

For each of the past 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to almost a joke in the process. Nine games into the present campaign it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who number Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – might just be ready to make their move while the Glasgow duo iron is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

Although much of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the situation at Ibrox has meant that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been able to worsen below the radar. The defending title winners have so far dropped 10 points from their opening nine fixtures this season under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a individual who can't stop checking his Google calendar to find out how many time are left until his deal ends, and awoke this morning to discover the answer is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time at the club," he told reporters following the loss, after they had questioned his appetite for any kind of a title fight. "So the motivation is there to try and reverse the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the dreadful beginning to the season being experienced by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his men could normally be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own failure to start strongly, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the fray. In spite of being obliged to operate with a budget that is not just a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have added the money and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership equation. In addition to putting in £10m during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has provided the club exclusive use of his top secret data-driven Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to unearth hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a modest car. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday wearing a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be observed celebrating each goal with the enthusiasm of a man who had likely noticed the oddsmakers had massively underestimated his team's chances of beating the struggling champions, and placed large bets accordingly.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said bearded Hearts gaffer the head coach after his side's latest victory, their eighth win in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for those on the periphery. It could alter opinions. It may confirm views that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the players have provided us. Technically, we look in a good place, and certainly in fitness we look in a good place, so long may that continue. Naturally, this is not a situation that this club is accustomed to being in." No, the manager, it is not. But the glorious, analytics-backed reality is that for the initial occasion in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that somebody besides the traditional powers can win.