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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole unexpected element of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how taken aback people seemed when reports of the outcome and its impact for the top of the table emerged. Although this convincing victory at their home ground, which puts the Jambos leading of the table and eight points ahead of Celtic, was earth-shattering in scale, no one who has been tracking the fortunes of both squad this campaign will have been in the least shocked by the final score.

For each of the last four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to something of a punchline in the process. Nine games into the current campaign it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – could be prepared to make their move while the Glasgow duo iron is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

While much of the attention 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 the title holders' comparatively less severe decline has been able to worsen below the radar. The reigning champions have already lost 10 points from their opening nine league games this term under their manager. The Celtic manager has acquired the distant look of a man who constantly checking his schedule to find out how many days are left until his contract ends, and awoke this morning to discover the number is 246.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure at the club," he told reporters following the loss, after they had doubted his appetite for any kind of a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is present to attempt to reverse the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the horrific start to the season being experienced by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his players could normally be anticipated 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 forced to operate with a budget that is not just a small portion of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have introduced the investment and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership mix. As well as investing £10m during the summer, the Brighton owner has granted the club exclusive 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 discover unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a modest car. Seen at Tynecastle on Sunday sporting a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be seen celebrating each goal with the gusto of a man who had almost certainly noticed the oddsmakers had greatly misjudged his side's chances of defeating the out-of-sorts champions, and placed large bets accordingly.

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 latest success, their eighth in nine outings. "It might be for others on the outside looking in. It could alter opinions. It may confirm opinions that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the players have given us. In terms of skill, we look in a good place, and certainly in fitness we look in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Naturally, this is not a situation that the team is accustomed to being in." Correct, Derek, it is not. But the glorious, analytics-backed truth is that for the initial occasion in many years, the Scottish game might actually have a championship battle that somebody besides Celtic or Rangers can claim.