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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the only surprising element of Hearts' victory over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which surprised people appeared when news of the outcome and its impact for the top of the standings circulated. While this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which leaves the Jambos top of the table and a significant margin clear of their rivals, was seismic in nature, no one who has been following the progress of both squad 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 league between them, turning fitba to almost a punchline in the process. Several matches into the present campaign it has become apparent that Hearts – who count celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their famous supporters – could be prepared to strike while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

While a lot of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being endured by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at their stadium has meant that the title holders' slightly less terminal decay has been able to worsen unnoticed. The defending title winners have so far dropped 10 points from their opening nine league games this term under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has developed the thousand-yard stare of a individual who can't stop consulting his Google calendar to see how many days are remaining until his contract expires, and woke up this morning to discover the number is over two hundred.

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

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the horrific start to the season being experienced by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his players could typically be anticipated to get away with their own inability to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has joined the fray. Despite being forced to operate with a budget that isn't so much a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have added the investment and expertise of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership mix. As well as putting in £10m during the off-season, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts sole use of his top secret analytics-based proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to unearth unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday sporting a club colours, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be seen cheering each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had likely noticed the bookies had massively misjudged his side's prospects of defeating the out-of-sorts champions, and filled his boots as a result.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer the head coach after his team's latest victory, their eighth win in nine outings. "It might be for others on the outside looking in. It might change perceptions. It may confirm views that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the players have given us. In terms of skill, we look in a good place, and definitely in fitness we seem in a good place, so we hope it persists. Of course, it's not a position that this club is accustomed to being in." Correct, the manager, it isn't. But the glorious, data-driven reality is that for the initial occasion in many years, Scottish football might actually have a title race that a team besides Celtic or Rangers can win.