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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the only unexpected aspect of Hearts' victory over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which surprised observers appeared when reports of the result and its consequences for the summit of the table emerged. While this 3-1 win at their home ground, which leaves the Jambos leading of the league and eight points clear of their rivals, was earth-shattering in scale, nobody who has been tracking the progress of both squad this campaign will have been even remotely astonished by the final score.

For each of the last four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish league between them, turning the beautiful game to almost a punchline in the process. Nine games into the present campaign it has become clear that Hearts – who number celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – could be prepared to make their move while the Glasgow duo influence is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

While a lot of the focus in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being endured by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the situation at their stadium has resulted in that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been allowed to fester unnoticed. The reigning champions have already dropped 10 points from nine league games this season under their manager. The team's boss has acquired the distant look of a individual who constantly checking his schedule to see how many days are left until his contract expires, and awoke this day to discover the number is 246.

"I've never worked harder in all my time here," he told the media following the loss, after they had questioned his desire for any kind of a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is present 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 campaign being endured by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his players could normally be expected to get away with their own failure to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the fray. Despite being forced to operate with a war-chest that isn't so much a small portion of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have added the money and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership equation. As well as putting in £10m during the summer, the Brighton owner has provided Hearts exclusive use of his highly confidential analytics-based Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to discover hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a modest car. Spotted at their home venue on matchday wearing a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be seen celebrating each goal with the gusto of a person who had likely realized the oddsmakers had greatly underestimated his team's prospects of defeating the out-of-sorts title holders, and filled his boots accordingly.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired team manager the head coach after his side's latest success, their eighth win in nine league matches. "It might be for others on the periphery. It might change opinions. It might validate opinions that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the lads have given us. In terms of skill, we look in a strong position, and definitely in fitness we look in a good place, so we hope it persists. Of course, it's not a position that the team is accustomed to being in." No, Derek, it is not. But the wonderful, data-driven reality is that for the initial occasion in many years, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that somebody besides the traditional powers can claim.