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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole unexpected aspect of Hearts' victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was just how surprised observers appeared when reports of the result and its consequences for the summit of the standings emerged. Although this convincing victory at their home ground, which puts the Edinburgh side leading of the league and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was earth-shattering in scale, nobody who has been following the progress of either squad this season will have been even remotely shocked by the result.

Over the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish league between them, reducing the beautiful game to almost a joke in the meantime. Several matches into the current season it has become apparent that Hearts – who count celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – might just be ready to strike while the Old Firm iron is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

While a lot of the focus in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being endured by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at Ibrox has meant that the title holders' comparatively less severe decay has been able to fester unnoticed. The defending title winners have already lost 10 points from their opening nine league games this term under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has developed the distant look of a man who can't stop checking his schedule to find out how many days are remaining until his deal expires, and woke up this morning to learn the number is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in all my time at the club," he told reporters following the loss, after they had doubted his desire for any kind of a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is present to attempt to reverse the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the horrific beginning to the season being experienced by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his men could typically be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own inability to start strongly, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has joined the fray. In spite of being obliged to operate with a budget that isn't so much a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the money and expertise of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership mix. As well as investing £10m during the summer, the Brighton owner has granted the club sole use of his highly confidential data-driven Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to unearth unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a modest car. Spotted at their home venue on matchday sporting a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be observed celebrating each goal with the enthusiasm 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 accordingly.

COACH'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a statement win," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer the head coach after his side's latest victory, their eighth in nine outings. "It might be for those on the periphery. It might change opinions. It may confirm opinions that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the players have given us. In terms of skill, we appear in a good place, and certainly physically we look in a good place, so we hope it persists. Of course, this is not a situation that this club is used to being in." No, the manager, it is not. But the glorious, analytics-backed truth is that for the first time in ages, Scottish football might actually have a title race that a team besides the traditional powers can win.