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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the only surprising element of Hearts' victory over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which surprised observers seemed when reports of the outcome and its consequences for the top of the table circulated. While this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Jambos leading of the table and eight points clear of Celtic, was earth-shattering in nature, no one who has been following the progress of both squad this campaign will have been in the least shocked by the result.

Over the last 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish league between them, turning the beautiful game to something of a punchline in the process. Several matches into the present season it has become apparent that Hearts – who count Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – could be ready to make their move while the Old Firm iron is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

While much of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the situation at their stadium has meant that Celtic's comparatively less severe decline has been allowed to worsen below the radar. The reigning champions have already lost 10 points from nine fixtures this season under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a individual who constantly consulting his Google calendar to find out how many days are left until his contract expires, and woke up this morning to learn the number is 246.

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

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the dreadful start to the campaign being experienced by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his men could typically be expected to escape scrutiny for their own inability to start strongly, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the mix. Despite being forced to function 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 SPL mix. In addition to investing ten million pounds during the off-season, the Brighton owner has provided the club exclusive use of his top secret data-driven proprietary scouting player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to discover unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at their home venue on Sunday wearing a club colours, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be observed cheering each score with the enthusiasm of a person who had likely realized the bookies had massively misjudged his team's chances of beating the struggling title holders, and filled his boots as a result.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his team's latest victory, their eighth win in nine outings. "It might be for others on the periphery. It could alter opinions. It might validate opinions that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the players have provided us. Technically, we appear in a strong position, and definitely in fitness we look in a good place, so long may that continue. Of course, this is not a situation that the team is used to being in." No, the manager, it isn't. But the glorious, analytics-backed truth is that for the initial occasion in ages, Scottish football might actually have a title race that somebody other than the traditional powers can win.