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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the only unexpected element of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was just how taken aback people seemed when reports of the result and its consequences for the top of the standings emerged. While this convincing victory at their home ground, which leaves the Jambos leading of the league and eight points clear of Celtic, was seismic in scale, no one who has been tracking the fortunes of both team this campaign will have been even remotely astonished by the final score.

For each of the last 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish league between them, turning 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, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – might just be prepared to make their move while the Glasgow duo influence is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

While much of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being suffered by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at their stadium has resulted in that the title holders' comparatively less severe decline has been able to fester unnoticed. The reigning champions have so far dropped 10 points from their opening nine league games this term under their manager. The Celtic manager has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a individual who constantly consulting his schedule to find out how many time are remaining until his deal ends, and woke up this morning to discover the answer is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure at the club," he told reporters following the defeat, after they had doubted his desire for any kind of a title fight. "So the motivation is present to attempt to flip the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the horrific beginning to the season being endured by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his men could normally be anticipated to get away with their own inability to start strongly, but this year an capital city challenger has joined the mix. In spite of being forced to operate with a budget that is not just a small portion of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have added the money and expertise of Tony Bloom to the SPL mix. As well as investing ten million pounds during the summer, the Brighton owner has granted the club exclusive use of his top secret data-driven proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect 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 exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a modest car. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday wearing a club colours, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be observed cheering each goal with the gusto of a man who had likely noticed the oddsmakers had massively misjudged his team's chances of beating the out-of-sorts champions, and filled his boots as a result.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired team manager Derek McInnes after his side's latest success, their eighth win in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for others on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It may confirm views that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the players have given us. Technically, we look in a good place, and certainly physically we seem in a good place, so long may that continue. Naturally, it's not a position that the team is accustomed to being in." Correct, Derek, it isn't. But the glorious, analytics-backed reality is that for the initial occasion in many years, the Scottish game might actually have a championship battle that somebody besides Celtic or Rangers can claim.