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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the only unexpected aspect of Hearts' triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which surprised people appeared when news of the outcome and its impact for the top of the standings emerged. While this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which leaves the Jambos top of the table and eight points ahead of their rivals, was earth-shattering in scale, nobody who has been tracking the progress of both team this campaign will have been in the least shocked by the final score.

Over the past 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish football between them, reducing the beautiful game to something of a punchline in the process. Nine games into the present campaign it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who number celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their famous supporters – could be prepared to make their move while the Old Firm influence is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

Although a lot of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the situation at Ibrox has meant that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been allowed to fester unnoticed. The defending title winners have so far lost 10 points from their opening nine league games this season under their manager. The Celtic manager has developed the distant look of a individual who can't stop consulting his schedule to see how many days are remaining until his contract ends, and woke up this morning to learn the answer is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure here," he told the media following the defeat, after they had doubted his appetite for anything resembling a title fight. "Therefore the drive is there to try and reverse the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the horrific start to the season being endured by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his players could normally be expected to get away with their own inability to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the fray. In spite of being forced to function with a war-chest that isn't so much a small portion of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have introduced the money and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the SPL equation. In addition to investing £10m during the summer, the Brighton owner has provided Hearts exclusive use of his highly confidential analytics-based Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to unearth unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at Tynecastle on Sunday wearing a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be observed cheering each goal with the enthusiasm of a man who had almost certainly noticed the oddsmakers had greatly underestimated his side's prospects of beating the out-of-sorts champions, and filled his boots as a result.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a statement win," said the facial-haired team manager Derek McInnes after his team's most recent victory, their eighth win in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for those on the outside looking in. It could alter opinions. It may confirm opinions that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the lads have provided us. Technically, we appear in a good place, and certainly in fitness we seem in a good place, so we hope it persists. Of course, this is not a situation that the team is accustomed to being in." Correct, the manager, it isn't. But the wonderful, data-driven truth is that for the first time in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that a team besides Celtic or Rangers can claim.