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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole surprising aspect of Heart of Midlothian's victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was just how surprised people appeared when reports of the result and its impact for the summit of the table circulated. While this convincing victory at their home ground, which puts the Jambos top of the league and a significant margin ahead of their rivals, was seismic in scale, no one who has been following the progress of both team this season will have been even remotely shocked by the final score.

Over the last 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish league between them, reducing fitba to something of a joke in the meantime. Nine games into the current campaign it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – could be ready to strike while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

While a lot of the focus in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being endured by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at their stadium has resulted in that Celtic's comparatively less severe decay has been allowed to worsen below the radar. The reigning champions have so far lost 10 points from nine fixtures this term under their manager. The Celtic manager has acquired the distant look of a individual who constantly consulting his schedule to see how many days are left until his contract expires, and awoke this day to discover the number is 246.

"I've never worked harder in all my time here," he informed reporters following the loss, after they had doubted his desire for any kind of a championship battle. "So the motivation is present to try and reverse the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the horrific beginning to the season being experienced by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his men could normally be expected to get away with their own inability to start strongly, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has joined 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 comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the money and expertise of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership mix. In addition to putting in £10m during the off-season, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts sole use of his top secret data-driven Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to unearth hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a modest car. Spotted at their home venue on Sunday wearing a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be observed cheering each score with the enthusiasm of a person who had almost certainly realized the bookies had massively underestimated his team's chances of beating the out-of-sorts champions, and placed large bets accordingly.

COACH'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said bearded Hearts gaffer the head coach after his team's most recent success, their eighth in nine outings. "It might be for those on the periphery. It could alter opinions. It may confirm views that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have given us. In terms of skill, we look in a strong position, and definitely physically we seem in a good place, so we hope it persists. Naturally, this is not a situation that the team is used to being in." Correct, the manager, it is not. But the wonderful, data-driven reality is that for the initial occasion in many years, Scottish football might genuinely have a championship battle that a team other than Celtic or Rangers can win.