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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the only unexpected element of Heart of Midlothian's victory over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was just how taken aback observers appeared when news of the outcome and its impact for the summit of the standings circulated. Although this convincing victory at their home ground, which puts the Edinburgh side leading of the table and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was earth-shattering in scale, no one who has been following the progress of either squad this campaign will have been even remotely shocked by the result.

Over the past 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish league between them, reducing fitba to almost a joke in the process. Several matches into the present campaign it has become apparent that Hearts – who number celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – might just be ready to make their move while the Glasgow duo influence is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

Although a lot of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being suffered by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at Ibrox has resulted in that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been allowed to worsen unnoticed. The defending title winners have so far lost a considerable number from their opening nine fixtures this season under their manager. The Celtic manager has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a man who can't stop checking his Google calendar to find out how many days are left until his contract ends, and awoke this morning to discover the number is 246.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure at the club," he told the media following the defeat, after they had questioned his desire for any kind of a title fight. "Therefore the drive is present to attempt to reverse the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the horrific start to the campaign being experienced by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his men could typically be anticipated to get away with their own failure to start strongly, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the mix. In spite of being obliged to operate with a budget that is not just a small portion of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the money and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership mix. In addition to investing ten million pounds during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has provided the club sole use of his top secret data-driven proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to unearth hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight 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 Sunday wearing a club colours, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be observed cheering each score with the enthusiasm of a man who had likely realized the bookies had greatly misjudged his side's prospects of defeating the struggling title holders, and placed large bets accordingly.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a statement win," said the facial-haired team manager the head coach after his team's most recent victory, their eighth in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for others on the outside looking in. It might change opinions. It may confirm opinions that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the lads have provided us. Technically, we look in a strong position, and definitely in fitness we seem in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Of course, it's not a position that this club is used to being in." No, the manager, it is not. But the glorious, analytics-backed reality is that for the first time in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that somebody other than Celtic or Rangers can win.