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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the only unexpected aspect of Hearts' triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was just how surprised people appeared when news of the result and its impact for the summit of the table emerged. While this 3-1 win at their home ground, which leaves the Edinburgh side top of the table and a significant margin clear of their rivals, was seismic in nature, no one who has been tracking the progress of either squad this season will have been even remotely astonished by the result.

Over the last 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish league between them, reducing fitba to something of a joke in the meantime. Nine games into the present campaign it has become clear that Hearts – who count celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – could be prepared to make their move while the Glasgow duo iron is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

Although much of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being endured by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at their stadium has resulted in that the title holders' comparatively less severe decay has been able to fester below the radar. The reigning champions have so far dropped 10 points from nine fixtures this term under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has developed the distant look of a man who can't stop checking his schedule to find out how many time are remaining until his contract expires, and awoke this morning to discover the number is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure at the club," he told the media following the loss, after they had questioned his appetite for anything resembling a championship battle. "So the motivation is there to attempt to reverse the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

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 roar out of the traps, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has joined 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. As well as putting in ten million pounds during the off-season, the Brighton owner has provided Hearts sole use of his highly confidential analytics-based proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to discover unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a modest car. Seen at their home venue on matchday sporting a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be observed cheering each goal with the gusto of a man who had almost certainly realized the oddsmakers had greatly misjudged his side's prospects of beating the struggling title holders, and placed large bets accordingly.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said the facial-haired team manager Derek McInnes after his side's most recent success, their eighth win in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for those on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It may confirm views that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the players have given us. Technically, we appear in a good place, and definitely physically we look in a good place, so we hope it persists. Naturally, it's not a position that this club is used to being in." Correct, Derek, it isn't. But the wonderful, analytics-backed reality is that for the initial occasion in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that a team other than Celtic or Rangers can claim.