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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the sole unexpected aspect of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which taken aback observers appeared when reports of the outcome and its impact for the top of the table emerged. Although this convincing victory at their home ground, which leaves the Edinburgh side top of the table and eight points clear of their rivals, was seismic in nature, nobody who has been following the fortunes of both team this campaign will have been in the least shocked by the result.

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 something of a joke in the process. Nine games into the current campaign it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – could be ready to strike while the Glasgow duo influence is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

Although a lot of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at their stadium has meant that the title holders' slightly less terminal decline has been able to worsen below the radar. The defending title winners have already lost 10 points from nine league games this term under their manager. The Celtic manager has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a individual who constantly consulting his Google calendar to find out how many time are remaining until his contract ends, and awoke this day to learn the answer is 246.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure at the club," he told reporters following the loss, after they had questioned his desire for any kind of a championship battle. "So the motivation is there to try and flip the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the horrific beginning to the campaign being experienced by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his players could typically be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own failure to start strongly, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the fray. Despite being obliged to operate with a budget that isn't so much a small portion of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have introduced the money and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership equation. As well as putting in ten million pounds during the summer, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts exclusive use of his top secret analytics-based Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to unearth unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at Tynecastle on Sunday sporting a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be seen cheering each goal with the gusto of a man who had almost certainly noticed the bookies had greatly underestimated his team's chances of beating the out-of-sorts title holders, and placed large bets as a result.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his side's most recent victory, their eighth in nine outings. "It might be for those on the outside looking in. It might change opinions. It might validate views 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 strong position, and definitely in fitness we seem in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Naturally, 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, the Scottish game might genuinely have a title race that a team other than Celtic or Rangers can win.