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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the sole surprising aspect of Hearts' triumph over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which taken aback observers appeared when reports of the outcome and its consequences for the top of the standings emerged. Although this convincing victory at their home ground, which leaves the Jambos top of the table and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was earth-shattering in scale, nobody who has been following the progress of both team this campaign will have been even remotely shocked by the result.

For each of the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to almost a joke in the process. Nine games into the current season it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who number celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their famous supporters – might just be prepared to strike while the Old Firm iron is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

Although much of the attention in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being endured by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the situation at their stadium has resulted in that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been able to worsen below the radar. The defending title winners have already dropped 10 points from their opening nine fixtures this season under their manager. The team's boss has acquired the distant look of a man who constantly consulting his Google calendar to see how many time are left until his deal ends, and awoke this morning to learn the answer is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure at the club," he informed reporters following the loss, after they had doubted his desire for any kind of a title fight. "So the motivation is there to attempt to flip the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the horrific start to the campaign being endured by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his men could normally be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own inability to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has entered the fray. Despite being forced to function with a budget that is not just a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have added the money and expertise of a renowned businessman to the SPL mix. In addition to investing ten million pounds during the off-season, the Brighton owner has provided Hearts exclusive use of his highly confidential data-driven Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to discover unpolished gems 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 modest car. Seen at their home venue on matchday wearing a club colours, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be observed celebrating each score with the gusto of a person who had likely noticed the oddsmakers had greatly misjudged his side's prospects of beating the struggling title holders, and filled his boots as a result.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his team's most recent success, their eighth win in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for those on the periphery. It could alter perceptions. It might validate 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 physically we look in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Of course, it's not a position that the team is accustomed to being in." Correct, Derek, it isn't. But the glorious, data-driven truth is that for the first time in many years, Scottish football might genuinely have a championship battle that somebody besides the traditional powers can claim.