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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 result and its consequences for the top of the standings circulated. Although this convincing victory at their home ground, which puts the Edinburgh side leading of the table and eight points ahead of their rivals, was earth-shattering in scale, no one who has been following the progress of both squad this campaign will have been in the least astonished by the result.

Over the last 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish league between them, reducing the beautiful game to something of a joke in the process. Several matches into the present campaign it has become apparent that Hearts – who number celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – might just be prepared to make their move while the Glasgow duo influence is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

Although a lot of the focus in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at their stadium has resulted in that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been able to fester unnoticed. The defending title winners have so far lost 10 points from nine league games this term under their manager. The team's boss has acquired the distant look of a man who can't stop consulting his schedule to see how many days are remaining until his deal ends, and woke up this day to discover the number is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in all my time at the club," he told reporters following the loss, after they had questioned his desire for any kind of a title fight. "Therefore the drive is present to try and reverse the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the dreadful start to the season being experienced by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his men could normally be anticipated to get away with their own inability to start strongly, but this year an capital city challenger has entered the mix. Despite being forced to operate with a war-chest that isn't so much a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have added the investment and expertise of a renowned businessman to the SPL mix. In addition to 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 an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis 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 total price of a modest car. Seen at their home venue on matchday sporting a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be observed celebrating each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had likely realized the oddsmakers had greatly misjudged his side's prospects of beating the out-of-sorts champions, and filled his boots as a result.

COACH'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a statement win," said bearded team manager Derek McInnes after his side's latest victory, their eighth win in nine outings. "It might be for others on the outside looking in. It could alter perceptions. It might validate opinions that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the players have given us. Technically, we look in a good place, and definitely physically 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." No, the manager, it is not. But the wonderful, analytics-backed reality is that for the initial occasion in ages, Scottish football might actually have a title race that somebody besides the traditional powers can claim.