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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole unexpected aspect of Hearts' victory over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was just how surprised observers appeared when reports of the result and its impact for the summit of the table emerged. Although this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which leaves the Edinburgh side top of the league and eight points ahead of Celtic, was seismic in nature, nobody who has been tracking the progress of both squad this season will have been in the least astonished by the final score.

Over the past four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish league between them, turning the beautiful game to almost a punchline in the meantime. Nine games into the present campaign it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their famous supporters – could be ready to strike while the Glasgow duo iron is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

While much of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being suffered by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at Ibrox has meant that Celtic's comparatively less severe decay has been allowed to fester unnoticed. The reigning champions have so far lost 10 points from their opening nine league games this season under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has acquired the distant look of a man who can't stop consulting his schedule to find out how many time are left until his contract expires, and awoke this day to discover the answer is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time here," he informed reporters following the loss, after they had doubted his appetite for anything resembling a championship battle. "So the motivation is present to try and reverse the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the horrific start to the season being experienced by Rangers, Rodgers and his players could typically be anticipated to get away with their own failure to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has joined the mix. 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. As well as putting in ten million pounds during the summer, the Brighton owner has provided the club sole use of his top secret data-driven proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to discover unpolished gems 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 mid-range family saloon. Seen at Tynecastle on Sunday wearing a club colours, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be observed celebrating each goal with the gusto of a man who had almost certainly noticed the oddsmakers had massively underestimated his team's prospects of beating the out-of-sorts champions, and filled his boots accordingly.

COACH'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said bearded team manager Derek McInnes after his team's most recent success, their eighth in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for those on the outside looking in. It might change opinions. It might validate opinions that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the lads have given us. Technically, we appear in a strong position, and certainly in fitness we look in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Naturally, this is not a situation that the team is used to being in." Correct, the manager, it isn't. But the glorious, analytics-backed reality is that for the initial occasion in many years, Scottish football might actually have a title race that a team other than the traditional powers can win.