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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole surprising aspect of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which taken aback people appeared when news of the result and its impact for the top of the table emerged. Although this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which puts the Jambos top of the league and a significant margin clear of their rivals, was seismic in nature, no one 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 four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish football between them, reducing fitba to almost a joke in the process. Nine games into the current season 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 strike while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

Although much of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being suffered by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at their stadium has resulted in that the title holders' slightly less terminal decay has been able to fester below the radar. The defending title winners have so far dropped 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 find out how many days are left until his deal ends, and woke up this morning to discover the answer is 246.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure here," he told the media following the loss, after they had doubted his desire for anything resembling a championship battle. "So the motivation is there to try and reverse the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the dreadful start to the campaign being experienced by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his players could normally be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own failure to start strongly, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has joined the mix. In spite of being forced to function with a war-chest that isn't so much a small portion of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the money and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the SPL mix. In addition to putting in ten million pounds during the summer, the Brighton owner has provided the club sole use of his highly confidential analytics-based proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to discover unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at Tynecastle on Sunday sporting a club colours, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be seen cheering each score with the gusto of a man who had likely noticed the bookies had massively misjudged his team's prospects of defeating the struggling title holders, and placed large bets accordingly.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his side's most recent success, their eighth win in nine league matches. "It might be for others on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It may confirm opinions that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have given us. In terms of skill, we appear in a good place, and definitely physically 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, the manager, it isn't. But the wonderful, analytics-backed truth is that for the first time in many years, Scottish football might actually have a championship battle that a team other than Celtic or Rangers can win.