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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole unexpected element of Hearts' triumph over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was just how surprised observers appeared when news of the outcome and its consequences for the summit of the table circulated. While this convincing victory at their home ground, which leaves the Edinburgh side leading of the table and eight points clear of their rivals, was seismic in nature, no one who has been tracking the progress of either squad this campaign will have been in the least shocked by the result.

For each of the last 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish football between them, reducing the beautiful game to something of a punchline in the meantime. Several matches into the present campaign it has become clear that Hearts – who number celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their famous supporters – might just be prepared to strike while the Glasgow duo influence is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

While a lot 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 Ibrox has resulted in that Celtic's slightly less terminal decay has been allowed to fester below the radar. The defending title winners have so far dropped 10 points from their opening nine fixtures this season under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has developed the thousand-yard stare of a individual who constantly consulting his Google calendar to find out how many days are left until his deal ends, and awoke this morning to discover the number is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure at the club," he told the media following the loss, after they had questioned his desire for any kind of a title fight. "Therefore the drive is there to try and reverse the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the horrific beginning to the campaign being experienced by Rangers, Rodgers and his players could normally be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own inability to roar out of the traps, but this year an capital city challenger has joined the mix. Despite being forced to operate 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 a renowned businessman to the SPL equation. As well as investing ten million pounds during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has granted Hearts sole use of his highly confidential data-driven proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to unearth hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at Tynecastle on Sunday sporting a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be observed celebrating each goal with the enthusiasm of a man who had almost certainly realized the oddsmakers had massively misjudged his team's chances of beating the struggling champions, and filled his boots as a result.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired team manager Derek McInnes after his side's most recent victory, their eighth win in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for others on the periphery. It might change perceptions. 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 strong position, and certainly physically we look in a good place, so we hope it persists. Naturally, it's not a position that this club is used to being in." No, Derek, it isn't. But the wonderful, data-driven reality is that for the initial occasion in many years, the Scottish game might actually have a championship battle that somebody other than the traditional powers can win.