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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole surprising aspect of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which surprised observers seemed when news of the outcome and its impact for the top of the standings circulated. While this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which leaves the Edinburgh side leading of the league and eight points ahead of Celtic, was earth-shattering in scale, no one who has been tracking the fortunes of either team this campaign will have been in the least shocked by the final score.

Over the past four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to almost a joke in the process. Nine games into the present season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – could be ready to make their move while the Glasgow duo influence is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

While a lot of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being suffered by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at Ibrox has resulted in that the title holders' comparatively less severe decline has been allowed to fester unnoticed. The defending title winners have so far dropped 10 points from nine fixtures this season under their manager. The team's boss has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a individual who can't stop checking his Google calendar to find out how many time are remaining until his contract expires, and awoke this day to discover the answer is 246.

"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 any kind of a championship battle. "So the motivation is there to try and reverse the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the dreadful beginning to the campaign being endured by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his men could typically be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own inability to start strongly, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the mix. In spite of being forced to operate with a budget that isn't so much a small portion of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have introduced the money and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the SPL mix. In addition to putting in ten million pounds during the summer, the Brighton owner has provided Hearts exclusive use of his highly confidential analytics-based proprietary scouting player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to unearth unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at Tynecastle on matchday wearing a club colours, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be observed celebrating each score with the gusto of a person who had likely noticed the bookies had greatly underestimated his side's prospects of beating the out-of-sorts champions, and placed large bets as a result.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said bearded Hearts gaffer the head coach after his side's most recent success, their eighth win in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for others on the periphery. It might change opinions. It might validate views that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the players have provided us. In terms of skill, we appear in a strong position, and definitely in fitness we look in a good place, so long may that continue. Of course, it's not a position that this club is accustomed to being in." Correct, the manager, it isn't. But the glorious, data-driven reality is that for the initial occasion in ages, Scottish football might actually have a championship battle that somebody other than Celtic or Rangers can claim.