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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the only unexpected element of Hearts' triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was just how surprised people appeared when reports of the result and its consequences for the summit of the table emerged. Although this convincing victory at their home ground, which puts the Edinburgh side leading of the league and eight points clear of Celtic, was earth-shattering in scale, nobody who has been tracking the progress of either team this season will have been even remotely astonished by the result.

Over the last 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish league between them, turning the beautiful game to almost a joke in the process. Several matches into the present season it has become apparent that Hearts – who number celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – might just be ready to make their move while the Glasgow duo iron is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

Although much of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at their stadium has resulted in that Celtic's comparatively less severe decline has been allowed to worsen 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 individual who constantly consulting his schedule to find out how many time are remaining until his contract expires, and awoke this day to discover the answer is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time here," he informed the media following the defeat, after they had questioned his desire for anything resembling a championship battle. "So the motivation is there to try and flip the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the horrific start to the campaign being endured by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his men could normally be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own failure to start strongly, but this year an capital city challenger has joined the mix. In spite of being obliged to function with a war-chest that is not just a small portion of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the money and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership equation. In addition to investing ten million pounds during the summer, the Brighton owner has provided Hearts sole use of his top secret analytics-based proprietary scouting player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga 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 total price of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday wearing a club colours, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be seen celebrating each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had likely realized the bookies had massively underestimated his team's chances of defeating the struggling champions, and filled his boots as a result.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a statement win," said the facial-haired team manager the head coach after his team's most recent victory, their eighth win in nine outings. "It might be for others on the outside looking in. It could alter opinions. It may confirm views that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the players have given us. In terms of skill, we appear in a good place, and certainly in fitness we seem in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Of course, 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 initial occasion in ages, Scottish football might genuinely have a championship battle that somebody besides Celtic or Rangers can win.