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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the sole surprising element of Hearts' triumph over the Glasgow giants 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 standings emerged. Although this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which puts the Jambos leading of the league and eight points ahead of Celtic, was seismic in nature, no one who has been tracking the progress of both squad this season will have been in the least shocked by the result.

Over the past four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish football between them, turning fitba to something of a punchline in the meantime. Nine games into the present season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who number celebrated snooker player, 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

Although much of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at Ibrox has meant that the title holders' comparatively less severe decay has been allowed to fester unnoticed. The reigning champions have already lost a considerable number from nine fixtures this term under their manager. The Celtic manager has developed the distant look of a individual who constantly consulting his schedule to see how many days are left until his contract expires, and awoke this morning to discover the answer is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure at the club," he informed the media following the loss, after they had doubted his desire for anything resembling a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is present to try and reverse the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the dreadful start to the campaign being endured by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his men could typically be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own inability to start strongly, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the mix. In spite of being obliged to function with a budget that isn't so much a small portion of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have introduced the money and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the SPL mix. In addition to putting in £10m during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has granted the club sole use of his top secret analytics-based Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to discover unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a modest car. Seen at Tynecastle on Sunday sporting a club colours, the famously shrewd sports betting expert 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 champions, and filled his boots accordingly.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a statement win," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer the head coach after his team's most recent victory, their eighth in nine outings. "It might be for those on the outside looking in. It could alter perceptions. 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 the team is used to being in." No, Derek, it isn't. But the glorious, data-driven truth is that for the first time in ages, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that somebody other than Celtic or Rangers can claim.