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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole surprising element of Hearts' triumph over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which taken aback people seemed when news of the outcome 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 league and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was earth-shattering in nature, no one who has been tracking the fortunes of both squad this season will have been even remotely shocked by the result.

Over the last four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to almost a joke in the meantime. Nine games into the present season it has become apparent that Hearts – who number Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – might just be ready to make their move while the Old Firm iron is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

While much of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at Ibrox has resulted in that the title holders' slightly less terminal decay has been allowed to worsen unnoticed. The reigning champions have already dropped a considerable number from their opening nine league games this term under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has developed the distant look of a individual who can't stop consulting his schedule to find out how many days are remaining until his contract ends, and awoke this day to discover 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 defeat, after they had doubted his appetite for any kind of a championship battle. "So the motivation is there to try and flip the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the dreadful start to the campaign being endured by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his men could typically be expected to get away with their own failure to start strongly, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the fray. In spite of being forced to operate with a budget that isn't so much a small portion of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have added the investment and expertise of a renowned businessman to the SPL mix. As well as putting in ten million pounds during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has provided Hearts exclusive use of his highly confidential analytics-based proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to unearth unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a modest car. Seen at Tynecastle on Sunday sporting a club colours, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be observed cheering each goal with the enthusiasm of a man who had almost certainly noticed the bookies had greatly misjudged his team's chances of defeating the out-of-sorts title holders, and placed large bets accordingly.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer the head coach after his team's latest success, their eighth win in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for those on the periphery. It could alter opinions. It might validate opinions that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the lads have provided us. Technically, we appear in a strong position, and certainly in fitness we seem in a good place, so we hope it persists. Naturally, it's not a position that the team is used to being in." No, the manager, it is not. But the glorious, data-driven reality is that for the first time in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a championship battle that somebody besides the traditional powers can claim.