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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the sole unexpected element of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was just how taken aback observers seemed when news of the result and its impact for the summit of the standings emerged. While this 3-1 win at their home ground, which leaves the Jambos 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 even remotely shocked by the final score.

Over the last four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish league between them, reducing the beautiful game to almost a joke in the meantime. Several matches into the present campaign it has become apparent that Hearts – who number Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – might just be prepared to make their move while the Glasgow duo iron is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

Although a lot of the attention in the Scottish game 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 comparatively less severe decay has been allowed to worsen unnoticed. The defending title winners have so far dropped 10 points from their opening nine fixtures this term under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has acquired the distant look of a man who can't stop consulting his schedule to see how many time are remaining until his contract expires, and awoke this morning to discover the number is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure at the club," he told reporters following the defeat, after they had doubted his appetite for any kind of 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

Given the horrific start to the season being endured by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his men could typically be expected to get away with their own inability to roar out of the traps, but this year 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 tiny fraction of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the investment and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership equation. In addition to putting in £10m during the off-season, the Brighton owner has provided Hearts sole use of his top secret analytics-based proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to unearth unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a modest car. Seen at their home venue on Sunday sporting a club colours, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be seen cheering each score with the enthusiasm of a person who had likely noticed the oddsmakers had massively underestimated his team's prospects of defeating the struggling title holders, and filled his boots as a result.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a statement win," said bearded team manager Derek McInnes after his side's latest victory, their eighth in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for those on the outside looking in. It could alter perceptions. It might validate views that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the players have given us. In terms of skill, we look in a good place, and definitely in fitness we look in a good place, so we hope it persists. Naturally, it's not a position that the team is used to being in." Correct, the manager, it is not. But the glorious, data-driven reality is that for the first time in many years, Scottish football might genuinely have a championship battle that somebody other than the traditional powers can win.