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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the only surprising element of Heart of Midlothian's victory over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which surprised observers appeared when reports of the outcome and its impact for the top of the table emerged. Although this 3-1 win at their home ground, which leaves the Edinburgh side top of the league and eight points ahead of Celtic, was earth-shattering in scale, nobody who has been tracking the fortunes of either squad this campaign will have been in the least shocked by the result.

For each of the last four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish football between them, reducing the beautiful game to something of a punchline in the process. Several matches into the present campaign it has become clear that Hearts – who number Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – could be ready to strike while the Old Firm influence is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

While a lot of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being suffered by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at Ibrox has meant that Celtic's comparatively less severe decline has been allowed to fester unnoticed. The defending title winners have so far lost a considerable number from their opening nine fixtures this season under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a man who constantly checking his schedule to see how many time are left until his contract expires, and awoke this morning to discover the answer is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure here," he informed reporters following the defeat, after they had doubted his desire for anything resembling a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is there to try and reverse the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the horrific beginning to the season being experienced by Rangers, Rodgers and his players could normally be expected to escape scrutiny for their own failure to start strongly, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the fray. Despite being obliged to function with a war-chest that is not just a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have introduced the money and expertise of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership mix. As well as investing £10m during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has granted Hearts sole use of his highly confidential analytics-based proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to discover hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at their home venue on matchday wearing a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be observed celebrating each score with the gusto of a person who had likely noticed the oddsmakers had greatly underestimated his team's prospects of defeating the struggling champions, and placed large bets accordingly.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his side's most recent victory, their eighth in nine outings. "It might be for others on the outside looking in. It could alter perceptions. It may confirm views that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the lads have provided us. Technically, we look in a good place, and definitely in fitness we seem in a good place, so long may that continue. Of course, it's not a position that the team is accustomed to being in." Correct, the manager, it isn't. But the wonderful, data-driven truth 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 claim.