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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the sole unexpected aspect of Hearts' victory over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was just how surprised observers seemed when reports of the outcome and its impact for the summit of the standings emerged. While this convincing victory at their home ground, which puts the Jambos leading of the table and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was seismic in scale, no one who has been tracking the fortunes of both squad this campaign will have been in the least astonished by the result.

For each of the last four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish league between them, turning the beautiful game to almost a punchline in the process. Several matches into the present season it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who number celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – could be ready to make their move while the Old Firm iron is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

While a lot of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at their stadium has meant that the title holders' comparatively less severe decay has been able to worsen unnoticed. The defending title winners have so far lost 10 points from nine league games this season under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a man who constantly consulting his schedule to see how many days are left until his deal expires, and awoke this day to learn the answer is 246.

"I've never worked harder in all my time here," he told reporters following the defeat, after they had questioned his desire for any kind of a title fight. "Therefore the drive is there to attempt to reverse the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the dreadful start to the season being endured by Rangers, Rodgers and his men could typically be expected to escape scrutiny for their own inability to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has entered the fray. In spite of being forced to operate with a war-chest that isn't so much a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have introduced the money and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the SPL mix. As well as investing £10m during the off-season, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts exclusive use of his highly confidential data-driven Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to discover unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at their home venue 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 underestimated his team's chances of defeating the out-of-sorts champions, and filled his boots accordingly.

COACH'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired team manager Derek McInnes after his team's latest success, their eighth in nine league matches. "It might be for others on the outside looking in. It might change opinions. It might validate views that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the players have given us. In terms of skill, we look in a good place, and certainly in fitness we seem in a excellent shape, 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 reality is that for the initial occasion in ages, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that somebody besides the traditional powers can claim.