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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the sole surprising element of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which surprised observers seemed when news of the outcome and its impact for the top of the table circulated. While this 3-1 win at their home ground, which leaves the Jambos leading of the league and eight points clear of Celtic, was earth-shattering in scale, no one who has been tracking the progress of either squad this campaign will have been in the least astonished by the result.

Over the last four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish league between them, turning the beautiful game to something of a joke in the meantime. Several matches into the current campaign it has become clear that Hearts – who count Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – might just be prepared to strike while the Glasgow duo iron is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

Although much of the attention in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at their stadium has resulted in that the title holders' slightly less terminal decay has been able to worsen below the radar. The defending title winners have already lost 10 points from their opening nine league games this term under their manager. The Celtic manager has acquired the distant look of a man who constantly consulting his schedule to see how many days are left until his contract expires, and woke up this morning to learn the number is 246.

"I've never worked harder in all my time at the club," he told the media following the loss, after they had questioned his appetite for any kind of a title fight. "So the motivation is present to attempt to reverse the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the horrific start to the campaign being experienced by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his players 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 fray. Despite being obliged to function with a budget that isn't so much a small portion of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have added the investment and expertise of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership mix. In addition to putting in ten million pounds during the off-season, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts sole use of his top secret analytics-based Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to discover hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at their home venue on matchday wearing a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be observed cheering each goal with the gusto of a man who had almost certainly noticed the oddsmakers had massively underestimated his side's chances of defeating the out-of-sorts champions, and placed large bets as a result.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a statement win," said bearded team manager Derek McInnes after his team's most recent victory, their eighth win in nine outings. "It might be for those on the outside looking in. It might change opinions. It may confirm views that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have given us. In terms of skill, we appear in a strong position, and definitely physically we seem in a good place, so we hope it persists. Naturally, it's not a position that this club is accustomed to being in." No, the manager, it is not. But the wonderful, analytics-backed truth is that for the initial occasion in many years, the Scottish game might genuinely have a championship battle that somebody other than the traditional powers can win.