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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the only surprising aspect of Hearts' victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was just how taken aback people seemed when reports of the result and its consequences for the top of the standings circulated. Although this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Edinburgh side top of the table and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was seismic in scale, no one who has been following the progress of either team this campaign will have been in the least astonished by the result.

Over the last 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish league between them, reducing fitba to almost a joke in the process. Several matches into the current season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – could be ready to strike while the Old Firm influence is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

Although much of the attention in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at their stadium has meant that the title holders' slightly less terminal decay has been allowed to worsen below the radar. The reigning champions have so far lost 10 points 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 consulting his schedule to find out how many time are left until his contract ends, and awoke this morning to learn the answer is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time at the club," he informed the media following the loss, after they had questioned his desire for any kind of a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is present to attempt to flip the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the dreadful start to the campaign being experienced by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his men could typically be expected to get away with their own inability to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the mix. In spite of being obliged to operate 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 investment and expertise of a renowned businessman to the SPL equation. In addition to putting in £10m during the off-season, the Brighton owner has provided Hearts sole use of his highly confidential analytics-based proprietary scouting player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis 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 modest car. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday wearing a club colours, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be observed celebrating each goal with the enthusiasm of a man who had almost certainly realized the bookies had greatly underestimated his team's prospects of defeating the struggling title holders, and filled his boots as a result.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said bearded team manager Derek McInnes after his side's latest success, their eighth in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for others on the outside looking in. It could alter opinions. It might validate opinions that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have provided us. Technically, we appear in a strong position, and definitely physically we seem in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Of course, it's not a position that this club is accustomed to being in." No, Derek, it is not. But the glorious, analytics-backed truth is that for the first time in ages, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that a team other than the traditional powers can claim.