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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole surprising element of Hearts' triumph over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which taken aback observers seemed when reports of the outcome and its consequences for the top of the table circulated. While this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which leaves the Jambos leading of the table and eight points clear of their rivals, was seismic in scale, nobody who has been tracking the progress of either team this campaign will have been in the least 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, reducing fitba to almost a joke in the process. Nine games into the present season it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who count celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their famous supporters – could be ready to make their move while the Old Firm iron is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

While much of the attention in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at their stadium has meant that Celtic's slightly less terminal decay has been allowed to worsen below the radar. The defending title winners have already lost 10 points from nine fixtures this season under their manager. The Celtic manager has developed the distant look of a individual who can't stop consulting his Google calendar to see how many time are remaining until his contract expires, and awoke this day to discover the number is 246.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure here," he informed reporters following the loss, after they had questioned his appetite for any kind of a title fight. "So the motivation is there to try and flip the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the horrific start to the season being experienced by Rangers, Rodgers and his men could normally be anticipated to get away with their own failure to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the fray. In spite of being forced to function with a war-chest that is not just a small portion of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the money and expertise of Tony Bloom to the SPL equation. In addition to investing ten million pounds during the summer, the Brighton owner has provided Hearts sole use of his highly confidential data-driven Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to discover unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a modest car. Seen at their home venue on matchday wearing a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be seen cheering each goal with the gusto of a man who had likely realized the bookies had massively underestimated his side's chances of defeating the out-of-sorts title holders, and filled his boots as a result.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a statement win," said bearded Hearts gaffer the head coach after his team's most recent victory, their eighth win in nine league matches. "It might be for those on the periphery. It could alter perceptions. It might validate opinions that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the lads have given us. In terms of skill, we look in a good place, and definitely physically we seem in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Of course, it's not a position that the team is accustomed to being in." No, Derek, it isn't. But the wonderful, analytics-backed reality is that for the initial occasion in many years, Scottish football might actually have a title race that a team besides the traditional powers can win.