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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole surprising element of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which taken aback observers appeared when reports of the outcome and its consequences for the summit of the standings emerged. Although this convincing victory at their home ground, which puts the Jambos top of the league and a significant margin ahead of Celtic, was seismic in scale, no one who has been following the progress of both team this campaign will have been even remotely astonished by the result.

Over the past four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish league between them, turning the beautiful game to something of a punchline in the process. Nine games into the present season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their famous supporters – could be prepared to strike while the Old Firm iron is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

While a lot of the focus in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being endured by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the situation at their stadium has meant that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been allowed to fester unnoticed. The reigning champions have already lost a considerable number from their opening nine league games this term under their manager. The Celtic manager has developed the thousand-yard stare of a individual who constantly checking his schedule to see how many days are left until his contract expires, and woke up this morning to learn the answer is 246.

"I've never worked harder in all my time here," he informed the media following the defeat, after they had questioned his desire for any kind of a title fight. "Therefore the drive is present to attempt to reverse the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the horrific start to the season being experienced by Rangers, Rodgers and his players could typically be expected 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 obliged to operate with a budget that isn't so much a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have added the investment and expertise of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership equation. As well as investing £10m during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has provided the club exclusive use of his top secret analytics-based proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to discover unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a modest car. Spotted at their home venue on matchday wearing a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be observed celebrating each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had likely noticed the bookies had greatly underestimated his team's chances of defeating the struggling champions, and filled his boots as a result.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said bearded team manager the head coach after his team's most recent success, their eighth in nine league matches. "It might be for others on the periphery. It might change opinions. It might validate opinions that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the lads have provided us. In terms of skill, we appear in a good place, and certainly physically we seem in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Of course, this is not a situation that this club is used to being in." Correct, the manager, it is not. But the wonderful, analytics-backed truth is that for the first time in ages, Scottish football might actually have a championship battle that somebody other than the traditional powers can claim.