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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 surprised people seemed when reports of the outcome and its consequences for the top of the table circulated. While this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which leaves the Edinburgh side top of the league and a significant margin ahead of their rivals, was earth-shattering in scale, nobody who has been tracking the fortunes of either squad this campaign will have been in the least shocked by the final score.

For each of the past 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish football between them, reducing fitba to something of a joke in the process. Nine games into the current season it has become clear that Hearts – who count Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their famous supporters – might just be prepared to strike while the Glasgow duo iron is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

Although much of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at Ibrox has meant that Celtic's slightly less terminal decay has been allowed to worsen below the radar. The reigning champions have so far dropped 10 points from nine fixtures this term under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a man who constantly checking his schedule to find out how many time are remaining until his contract ends, and woke up this morning to learn the answer is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time at the club," he told reporters following the defeat, after they had questioned his desire for anything resembling a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is present to try and flip the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the dreadful start to the campaign being experienced by Rangers, Rodgers and his men could typically be expected 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 obliged to operate 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 Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership mix. As well as putting in £10m during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has granted the club exclusive use of his highly confidential analytics-based Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to discover unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at Tynecastle on Sunday wearing a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be seen cheering each goal with the enthusiasm of a man who had likely realized the oddsmakers had massively misjudged his side's chances of defeating the out-of-sorts champions, and placed large bets accordingly.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said bearded team manager Derek McInnes after his team's most recent victory, their eighth win in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for those on the periphery. It could alter perceptions. It may confirm opinions that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have provided us. Technically, we look in a strong position, and certainly physically we look in a good place, so long may that continue. Of course, it's not a position that the team is accustomed to being in." No, Derek, it isn't. But the wonderful, data-driven 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 win.