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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the only surprising element of Hearts' triumph over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which taken aback people appeared when reports of the outcome and its consequences for the summit of the table circulated. Although this convincing victory at their home ground, which leaves the Jambos top of the table and a significant margin ahead of their rivals, was seismic in scale, no one who has been tracking the progress of both squad this campaign will have been in the least astonished by the result.

For each of the last four decades, 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. Several matches into the current season it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who number celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – might just be ready to strike while the Old Firm iron is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

Although much of the attention in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being endured by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at Ibrox has resulted in that the title holders' comparatively less severe decline has been able to fester below the radar. The defending title winners have already lost a considerable number from nine fixtures this season under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has acquired the distant look of a man who constantly checking his schedule to find out how many days are left until his deal ends, and awoke this day to learn the number is 246.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure at the club," he told reporters following the defeat, after they had questioned his desire for anything resembling a championship battle. "So the motivation is present to attempt to reverse the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the horrific beginning to the season being experienced by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his players could typically be expected to get away with their own inability to start strongly, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the mix. In spite of being obliged to function with a war-chest that isn't so much a small portion of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have added the money and expertise of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership equation. In addition to investing £10m during the summer, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts sole use of his highly confidential data-driven Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to unearth hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at Tynecastle on Sunday wearing a club colours, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be seen celebrating each score with the gusto of a man who had likely realized the oddsmakers had massively underestimated his side's prospects of defeating the struggling champions, and filled his boots accordingly.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a statement win," said the facial-haired team manager Derek McInnes after his team's latest success, their eighth win in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for others on the outside looking in. It might change opinions. It may confirm opinions that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the players have provided us. In terms of skill, we appear in a good place, and definitely physically we seem in a good place, so long may that continue. Naturally, this is not a situation that the team is accustomed to being in." No, Derek, it is not. But the glorious, analytics-backed reality is that for the first time in many years, Scottish football might genuinely have a championship battle that somebody other than the traditional powers can win.