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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole unexpected aspect of Hearts' triumph over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which taken aback observers appeared when news of the outcome and its impact for the summit of the table emerged. While this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which leaves the Edinburgh side top of the table and a significant margin clear of their rivals, was seismic in nature, no one who has been following the fortunes of both team this season will have been even remotely astonished by the result.

Over the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish football between them, turning fitba to almost a punchline in the process. Nine games into the present season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who number Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – might just be prepared to strike while the Glasgow duo influence is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

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 situation at their stadium has resulted in that the title holders' slightly less terminal decay has been able to fester below the radar. The defending title winners have already lost a considerable number from their opening nine fixtures this term under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has developed the distant look of a individual who can't stop checking his schedule to find out how many time are remaining until his contract expires, and awoke this day to learn the number is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time at the club," he told the media following the loss, after they had doubted his appetite for anything resembling a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is present to attempt to reverse the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the horrific start to the campaign being experienced by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his men could typically be anticipated to get away with their own failure to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has entered the fray. In spite of being forced to function with a war-chest that is not just a small portion of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have introduced the money and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the SPL mix. As well as putting in £10m during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has granted Hearts sole use of his highly confidential analytics-based Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to unearth unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at their home venue on Sunday wearing a club colours, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be seen cheering each goal with the enthusiasm of a man who had almost certainly realized the oddsmakers had massively misjudged his side's chances of defeating the out-of-sorts title holders, and filled his boots as a result.

COACH'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer the head coach after his team's most recent victory, their eighth in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for those on the outside looking in. It might change opinions. It may confirm opinions that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have provided us. Technically, we appear in a strong position, and definitely in fitness we look in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Naturally, this is not a situation that this club is accustomed to being in." No, the manager, it is not. But the glorious, data-driven reality is that for the first time in many years, Scottish football might actually have a championship battle that a team other than Celtic or Rangers can win.