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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole unexpected aspect of Hearts' victory over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was just how taken aback observers seemed when reports of the outcome and its consequences for the top of the standings emerged. Although this convincing victory at their home ground, which leaves the Edinburgh side top of the league and eight points ahead of Celtic, was earth-shattering in nature, nobody who has been tracking the fortunes of either squad this campaign will have been in the least shocked by the final score.

For each of the last 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish league between them, turning fitba to something of a punchline in the process. Several matches into the current season it has become apparent that Hearts – who number celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – could be ready to strike while the Old Firm iron is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

Although much of the focus in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being endured by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the situation at their stadium has meant that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been able to worsen below the radar. The defending title winners have already dropped 10 points from nine league games this term under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has acquired the distant look of a man who constantly checking his schedule to see how many time are remaining until his deal ends, and awoke this morning to learn the number is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure here," he informed the media following the defeat, after they had doubted his desire for anything resembling a championship battle. "So the motivation is there to try and flip the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the horrific beginning to the campaign being experienced by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his players could typically be expected to get away with their own failure to start strongly, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the fray. Despite being obliged to function with a budget that isn't so much a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have added the investment and expertise of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership equation. In addition to putting in ten million pounds during the summer, the Brighton owner has provided the club sole use of his highly confidential data-driven proprietary scouting player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to unearth hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at Tynecastle on Sunday sporting a club colours, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be observed cheering each goal with the enthusiasm of a man who had likely noticed the oddsmakers had massively misjudged his side's prospects of beating the struggling title holders, and placed large bets as a result.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said bearded Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his team's latest success, their eighth win in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for those on the outside looking in. It could alter perceptions. It may confirm views that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the lads have given us. In terms of skill, we look in a good place, and certainly physically we seem in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Of course, it's not a position that this club is accustomed to being in." No, the manager, it is not. But the glorious, analytics-backed truth is that for the first time in many years, the Scottish game might genuinely have a title race that somebody besides the traditional powers can claim.