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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the sole surprising element of Hearts' triumph over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was just how taken aback observers appeared when reports of the outcome and its consequences for the top of the standings emerged. While this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which leaves the Jambos leading of the league and eight points ahead of Celtic, was seismic in nature, no one who has been following the fortunes of both squad this season will have been in the least astonished by the result.

Over the past four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish league between them, turning the beautiful game to something of a joke in the meantime. Several matches into the present campaign 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 make their move while the Glasgow duo influence is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

While a lot of the focus in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being suffered by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at their stadium has resulted in that Celtic's comparatively less severe decay has been able to fester unnoticed. The reigning champions have already lost a considerable number from their opening nine fixtures this term under their manager. The Celtic manager has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a man who can't stop consulting his schedule to see how many days are left until his contract ends, and awoke this day to discover the number is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure at the club," he informed reporters following the defeat, after they had questioned his appetite for any kind of a championship battle. "So the motivation is there to attempt to flip the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the dreadful beginning to the campaign being experienced by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his players could typically be anticipated to get away with their own inability to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has joined the mix. Despite being forced to operate with a war-chest that is not just a small portion of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have added the investment and expertise of a renowned businessman to the SPL mix. As well as investing £10m during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has granted Hearts sole use of his highly confidential analytics-based proprietary scouting player identification system.

In an Irish defender, 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 Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at their home venue on Sunday wearing a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be seen cheering each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had almost certainly realized the bookies had massively misjudged his side's chances of beating the out-of-sorts title holders, and placed large bets accordingly.

COACH'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his team's most recent success, their eighth in nine league matches. "It might be for those on the outside looking in. It could alter perceptions. It may confirm opinions that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the players have provided us. Technically, we appear in a good place, and definitely physically we seem in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Naturally, it's not a position that this club is accustomed to being in." No, the manager, it is not. But the glorious, data-driven reality is that for the initial occasion in many years, Scottish football might actually have a title race that a team other than the traditional powers can win.