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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the only surprising aspect of Hearts' triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how taken aback observers appeared when news of the outcome and its impact for the top of the table emerged. While this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which puts the Edinburgh side top of the league and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was seismic in nature, no one who has been tracking the fortunes of both squad this campaign will have been even remotely shocked by the result.

Over the past 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish league between them, turning fitba to something of a punchline in the meantime. Nine games into the current campaign it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who count celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – might just be prepared to strike while the Glasgow duo influence is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

While much of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the situation at Ibrox has resulted in that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been able to worsen unnoticed. The reigning champions have so far lost a considerable number from nine league games this term under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has developed the distant look of a man who constantly checking his Google calendar to find out how many time are left until his contract expires, and awoke this morning to discover the answer is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in all my time at the club," he informed the media following the defeat, after they had questioned his desire for anything resembling a title fight. "So the motivation is present to try and reverse the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the horrific start to the season being experienced by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his players could normally 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 tiny fraction of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have added the investment and expertise of a renowned businessman to the SPL equation. As well as putting in £10m during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has provided Hearts exclusive use of his highly confidential data-driven Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to unearth unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at Tynecastle on matchday sporting a club colours, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be seen cheering each goal with the gusto of a person who had likely realized the bookies had greatly underestimated his team's prospects of beating the out-of-sorts champions, and filled his boots accordingly.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said bearded team manager Derek McInnes after his side's most recent victory, their eighth win in nine outings. "It might be for those on the outside looking in. It could alter perceptions. It might validate opinions that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have given us. Technically, we look in a strong position, and definitely in fitness we look in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Of course, this is not a situation that this club is accustomed to being in." No, Derek, it is not. But the glorious, data-driven truth is that for the first time in many years, the Scottish game might genuinely have a title race that a team other than Celtic or Rangers can win.