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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole unexpected element of Hearts' victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which surprised observers appeared when news of the outcome and its consequences for the summit of the table emerged. Although this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Jambos leading of the table and a significant margin clear of their rivals, was earth-shattering in scale, no one who has been following the progress of both team this season will have been even remotely shocked by the final score.

For each of the last four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish football between them, turning fitba to almost a punchline in the meantime. Nine games into the current season it has become clear that Hearts – who count celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – could be ready to strike while the Glasgow duo influence is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

While much of the focus in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being suffered by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the situation at Ibrox has meant that the title holders' slightly less terminal decay has been allowed to fester unnoticed. The reigning champions have so far lost 10 points from nine fixtures this season under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a man who constantly checking his Google calendar to see how many days are remaining until his contract ends, and awoke this day to learn the number is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure here," he informed the media following the loss, after they had questioned his appetite for any kind of a title fight. "So the motivation is there to attempt to reverse the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the dreadful beginning to the season being endured by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his players could typically be expected to get away with their own inability to roar out of the traps, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the fray. Despite being forced to operate with a war-chest that is not just a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have added the money and expertise of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership equation. As well as investing £10m during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has provided Hearts exclusive use of his highly confidential data-driven proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect 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 total price of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at Tynecastle on matchday wearing a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be seen cheering each score with the enthusiasm of a person who had almost certainly noticed the oddsmakers had massively misjudged his team's prospects of defeating the struggling title holders, and filled his boots accordingly.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a statement win," said bearded team manager the head coach after his side's latest victory, their eighth in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for those on the outside looking in. It might change opinions. It may confirm opinions that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the lads have given us. Technically, we appear in a strong position, and certainly in fitness we seem in a good place, so we hope it persists. Naturally, this is not a situation that this club is accustomed to being in." No, the manager, it isn't. But the wonderful, analytics-backed truth is that for the first time in ages, Scottish football might actually have a title race that somebody other than Celtic or Rangers can win.