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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the only surprising aspect of Hearts' victory over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was just how surprised people seemed when news of the result and its impact for the summit of the standings circulated. Although this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which puts the Edinburgh side leading of the table and eight points clear of Celtic, was seismic in scale, nobody who has been following the fortunes of both team this season will have been even remotely astonished by the result.

Over the last four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to almost a punchline in the meantime. Several matches into the present campaign it has become apparent that Hearts – who number celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – could be ready to make their move while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

Although much of the attention in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at Ibrox has meant that the title holders' slightly less terminal decay has been allowed to worsen below the radar. The defending title winners have so far dropped 10 points from their opening nine fixtures this season under their manager. The Celtic manager has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a man who can't stop checking his schedule to see how many time are remaining until his contract ends, and awoke this day to discover the number is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure here," he told reporters following the defeat, after they had questioned his desire for anything resembling a title fight. "So the motivation is present to try and flip the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the dreadful start to the season being endured by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his men could normally be expected to escape scrutiny for their own inability to start strongly, but this year an capital city challenger has entered the fray. Despite being obliged to operate with a war-chest that isn't so much a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have introduced the investment and expertise of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership mix. In addition to putting in £10m during the off-season, the Brighton owner has provided Hearts sole use of his top secret data-driven proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to discover unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at Tynecastle on matchday sporting a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be seen cheering each goal with the gusto of a man who had almost certainly realized the bookies had greatly underestimated his team's prospects of beating the struggling title holders, and filled his boots as a result.

COACH'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said bearded team manager the head coach after his team's most recent success, their eighth in nine outings. "It might be for others on the outside looking in. It might change perceptions. It might validate views that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the players have given us. Technically, we appear in a good place, and certainly in fitness we seem in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Naturally, this is not a situation that this club is used to being in." Correct, the manager, it is not. But the glorious, data-driven reality is that for the first time in ages, Scottish football might genuinely have a championship battle that somebody other than the traditional powers can win.