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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole surprising aspect of Heart of Midlothian's victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how taken aback observers seemed when reports of the result and its impact for the top of the table emerged. While this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Edinburgh side top of the table and eight points ahead of Celtic, was earth-shattering in nature, nobody who has been following the fortunes of either squad this campaign will have been even remotely shocked by the final score.

For each of the last 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish league between them, reducing the beautiful game to almost a punchline in the process. Nine games into the current season it has become apparent that Hearts – who number celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their famous supporters – might just be prepared to strike while the Old Firm iron is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

Although much of the focus in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at their stadium has meant that the title holders' comparatively less severe decay has been allowed to worsen unnoticed. The defending title winners have already lost 10 points from their opening nine league games this season under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has developed the thousand-yard stare of a individual who constantly checking his Google calendar to find out how many time are remaining until his contract expires, and woke up this day to discover the number is 246.

"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 desire for any kind of a title fight. "Therefore the drive is present to try and reverse the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the horrific start to the season being endured by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his players could typically be anticipated to get away with their own inability to start strongly, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has entered the fray. In spite of being obliged to operate with a budget that isn't so much a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have added the money and expertise of a renowned businessman to the SPL mix. As well as putting in £10m during the summer, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts sole use of his top secret analytics-based proprietary scouting player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to discover unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a modest car. Spotted at their home venue on matchday sporting a club colours, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be seen celebrating each score with the gusto of a man who had almost certainly noticed the bookies had massively underestimated his team's chances of defeating the struggling champions, and filled his boots accordingly.

COACH'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer the head coach after his team's latest victory, their eighth win in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for others on the periphery. It could alter opinions. It may confirm opinions that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the lads have given us. Technically, we look in a good place, and definitely in fitness we look in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Of course, it's not a position that this club is accustomed to being in." Correct, Derek, it isn't. But the wonderful, analytics-backed truth is that for the first time in ages, Scottish football might actually have a championship battle that a team besides Celtic or Rangers can claim.