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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the sole surprising element 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 consequences for the summit of the standings circulated. Although this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which puts the Jambos top of the league and eight points clear of their rivals, was seismic in scale, no one who has been tracking the progress of either squad this season will have been even remotely shocked by the result.

Over the past 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish league between them, turning fitba to almost a joke in the process. Nine games into the current campaign it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who number celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – could be prepared to make their move while the Glasgow duo iron is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

Although a lot of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at their stadium has meant that the title holders' comparatively less severe decay has been allowed to worsen below the radar. The reigning champions have so far dropped a considerable number from nine fixtures this term under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a individual who can't stop consulting his Google calendar to find out how many time are remaining until his contract expires, and woke up this morning to discover the number is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time here," he informed reporters following the defeat, after they had questioned his desire for any kind of a title fight. "Therefore the drive is present to attempt to reverse the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the dreadful beginning to the campaign being endured by Rangers, Rodgers and his men could typically be expected to get away with their own inability to start strongly, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has joined the fray. In spite of being obliged to function with a war-chest that isn't so much a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have introduced the investment and expertise of a renowned businessman to the SPL equation. As well as investing £10m during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has granted the club sole use of his highly confidential data-driven proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to unearth unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at their home venue on Sunday wearing a club colours, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be seen celebrating each goal with the gusto of a person who had almost certainly realized the bookies had massively misjudged his team's prospects of defeating the struggling title holders, and filled his boots as a result.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said bearded team manager Derek McInnes after his side's latest victory, their eighth in nine league matches. "It might be for others on the periphery. It might change opinions. It might validate views that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the players have given us. Technically, we appear in a good place, and certainly in fitness we seem in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Naturally, it's not a position that this club is used to being in." Correct, the manager, it isn't. But the glorious, analytics-backed truth is that for the initial occasion in ages, the Scottish game might genuinely have a title race that somebody besides the traditional powers can claim.