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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the only surprising aspect of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which surprised people seemed when reports of the result and its consequences for the summit of the table circulated. While this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which leaves the Jambos leading of the league and a significant margin ahead of their rivals, was earth-shattering in nature, 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 past 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish football between them, reducing the beautiful game to something of a punchline in the meantime. Nine games into the current season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who number celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – might just be prepared to make their move while the Old Firm influence is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

Although a lot 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 Ibrox has meant that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been able to worsen below the radar. The defending title winners have already lost a considerable number from their opening nine league games this term under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a individual who can't stop checking his schedule to find out how many days are remaining until his deal expires, and awoke this morning to learn the number is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time here," he told the media following the loss, after they had questioned his appetite for any kind of a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is there to try and reverse the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the dreadful beginning to the campaign being endured by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his players could typically be anticipated to get away with their own inability to roar out of the traps, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the fray. In spite of being obliged to operate with a budget that isn't so much a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have introduced the money and expertise of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership equation. As well as investing ten million pounds during the off-season, the Brighton owner has provided Hearts exclusive use of his top secret data-driven Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to unearth hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a modest car. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday sporting a club colours, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be observed celebrating each score with the gusto of a person who had almost certainly noticed the bookies had greatly underestimated his team's chances of beating the out-of-sorts champions, and placed large bets accordingly.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer the head coach after his side's latest victory, their eighth win in nine outings. "It might be for others on the outside looking in. It could alter perceptions. It might validate opinions that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the players have given us. In terms of skill, we look in a strong position, and definitely in fitness we look in a good place, so long may that continue. Naturally, it's not a position that this club is used to being in." Correct, Derek, it isn't. But the glorious, analytics-backed reality is that for the first time in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that a team other than Celtic or Rangers can win.