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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole unexpected element of Hearts' victory over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was just how surprised observers seemed when news of the result and its impact for the summit of the standings circulated. While this convincing victory at their home ground, which leaves the Jambos leading of the league and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was earth-shattering in nature, no one who has been tracking the progress of either squad this campaign will have been even remotely shocked by the result.

Over the past four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish football between them, reducing the beautiful game to something of a punchline in the meantime. Nine games into the current season it has become apparent that Hearts – who count celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – could be ready to strike while the Glasgow duo influence is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

Although much of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the situation at Ibrox has resulted in that Celtic's slightly less terminal decay has been allowed to fester unnoticed. The reigning champions have already dropped 10 points from their opening nine fixtures this season under their manager. The Celtic manager has acquired the distant look of a man who can't stop checking his Google calendar to see how many time are remaining until his contract expires, and woke up this morning to learn the number is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in all my time here," he told the media following the defeat, after they had doubted his desire for anything resembling a title fight. "Therefore the drive is present to attempt to flip the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the dreadful start to the campaign being endured by Rangers, Rodgers and his players could normally be expected to escape scrutiny for their own failure to start strongly, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the mix. In spite of being obliged to operate with a budget that isn't so much a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have introduced the investment and expertise of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership mix. In addition to putting in ten million pounds during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has provided the club sole use of his highly confidential analytics-based proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to discover unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight 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 matchday wearing a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd 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 chances of beating the struggling champions, and placed large bets as a result.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer the head coach after his team's most recent success, their eighth in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for those on the periphery. It could alter opinions. It might validate views that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the players have provided us. In terms of skill, we appear in a strong position, and certainly in fitness we look in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Naturally, this is not a situation that the team is used to being in." No, the manager, it is not. But the wonderful, analytics-backed truth is that for the initial occasion in many years, the Scottish game might actually have a championship battle that somebody other than the traditional powers can win.