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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the only surprising element of Hearts' victory over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which surprised observers appeared when reports of the outcome and its impact for the summit of the table circulated. Although this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Jambos leading of the table and eight points clear of their rivals, was earth-shattering in nature, no one who has been following the progress of both squad this season will have been in the least astonished by the final score.

For each of the past 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish league between them, reducing fitba to something of a punchline in the meantime. Nine games into the present season it has become apparent that Hearts – who number celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – might just be prepared to make their move while the Glasgow duo influence is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

While a lot of the attention in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being endured by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at their stadium has resulted in that Celtic's comparatively less severe decay has been able to worsen below the radar. The reigning champions have so far dropped 10 points from nine league games this season under their manager. The team's boss has acquired the distant look of a individual who constantly consulting his Google calendar to find out how many days are remaining until his contract expires, and woke up this day to discover the number is 246.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure here," he told reporters following the defeat, after they had questioned his appetite for anything resembling a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is present to try and flip the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the horrific start to the campaign being endured by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his players could normally be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own failure to start strongly, but this year an capital city challenger has entered the fray. Despite being forced to operate with a war-chest that isn't so much a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the investment and expertise of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership mix. In addition to investing £10m during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has provided the club exclusive use of his top secret data-driven Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to unearth hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a modest car. Spotted at Tynecastle on Sunday wearing a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be observed cheering each goal with the gusto of a person who had almost certainly realized the bookies had massively misjudged his side's prospects of beating the out-of-sorts title holders, and filled his boots as a result.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said bearded Hearts gaffer the head coach after his side's most recent success, their eighth win in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for others on the periphery. It might change opinions. It may confirm opinions that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the lads have given us. In terms of skill, we look in a strong position, and definitely physically we seem in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Of course, it's not a position that the team is accustomed to being in." Correct, Derek, it is not. But the wonderful, analytics-backed truth is that for the first time in many years, the Scottish game might genuinely have a title race that somebody other than Celtic or Rangers can win.