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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the only surprising element of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was just how taken aback observers seemed when reports of the result and its impact for the top of the table circulated. Although 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, nobody who has been following the fortunes of either squad this campaign will have been in the least astonished by the final score.

For each of the past 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish league between them, turning fitba to something of a punchline in the meantime. Several matches into the current campaign it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – could be prepared to make their move while the Old Firm iron is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

Although much of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being endured by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at their stadium has meant that the title holders' comparatively less severe decay has been able to fester unnoticed. The reigning champions have already dropped 10 points from nine fixtures this term under their manager. The Celtic manager has acquired the distant look of a individual who can't stop consulting his Google calendar to see how many time are remaining until his contract ends, and woke up this day to learn the number is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time here," he informed the media following the defeat, after they had doubted his appetite for anything resembling a title fight. "So the motivation is present to try and reverse the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the horrific start to the season being experienced by Rangers, Rodgers and his players could typically be expected to escape scrutiny for their own failure to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the mix. Despite being forced to function with a budget that isn't so much a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have added the investment and expertise of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership equation. As well as investing ten million pounds during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has provided Hearts sole use of his top secret analytics-based proprietary scouting player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect 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 exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at Tynecastle on matchday wearing a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be seen cheering each score with the gusto of a person who had likely noticed the oddsmakers had greatly underestimated his side's chances of beating the out-of-sorts champions, and filled his boots accordingly.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said bearded team manager the head coach after his side's latest success, their eighth win in nine outings. "It might be for others on the periphery. It could alter perceptions. It might validate views that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the lads have given us. Technically, we appear in a strong position, and certainly in fitness we look in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Naturally, this is not a situation that this club is accustomed to being in." Correct, Derek, it is not. But the wonderful, analytics-backed truth is that for the first time in many years, the Scottish game might actually have a championship battle that somebody other than the traditional powers can win.