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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the sole surprising aspect of Hearts' triumph over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which surprised people appeared when news of the result and its consequences for the top of the standings circulated. While this 3-1 win at their home ground, which leaves the Edinburgh side leading of the table and eight points clear of Celtic, was earth-shattering in scale, nobody who has been tracking the progress of either squad this campaign will have been even remotely astonished by the result.

For each of the last 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to something of a punchline in the meantime. Nine games into the present campaign it has become clear that Hearts – who count celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – might just be prepared to make their move while the Old Firm influence is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

Although much of the attention in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being endured by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at Ibrox has meant that the title holders' comparatively less severe decay has been allowed to fester below the radar. The defending title winners have already lost a considerable number from their opening nine league games this season under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has developed the thousand-yard stare of a individual who constantly consulting his Google calendar to see how many time are remaining until his deal expires, and awoke this day to learn the number is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure here," he told the media following the defeat, after they had questioned his appetite for anything resembling a title fight. "Therefore the drive is there to try and flip the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the horrific start to the season being endured by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his players could normally be expected to escape scrutiny for their own failure to start strongly, but this year an capital city challenger has entered the fray. In spite of being forced to operate with a budget that isn't so much a small portion of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have added the investment and expertise of a renowned businessman to the SPL mix. In addition to investing ten million pounds during the summer, the Brighton owner has provided the club sole use of his top secret data-driven Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to unearth hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division 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 Sunday sporting a club colours, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be observed cheering each goal with the enthusiasm of a man who had almost certainly noticed the oddsmakers had greatly misjudged his side's prospects of beating the struggling title holders, and placed large bets as a result.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a statement win," said bearded Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his side's latest victory, their eighth in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for others on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It might validate opinions that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the players have provided us. In terms of skill, we appear in a good place, and certainly physically we look in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Of course, it's not a position that the team is used to being in." Correct, Derek, it is not. But the glorious, data-driven truth is that for the initial occasion in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that somebody other than the traditional powers can win.