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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole surprising element of Hearts' victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which surprised people appeared when reports of the result and its consequences for the summit of the table circulated. Although this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Edinburgh side leading of the league and a significant margin ahead of their rivals, was earth-shattering in nature, nobody who has been following the fortunes of both team this campaign will have been even remotely shocked by the result.

Over the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish league between them, reducing fitba to almost a punchline in the process. Nine games into the present campaign it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – could be ready to make their move while the Glasgow duo iron is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

While a lot of the attention in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being suffered by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at their stadium has resulted in that the title holders' comparatively less severe decay has been able to worsen below the radar. The reigning champions have so far dropped 10 points from their opening nine league games this season under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has developed the distant look of a individual who can't stop checking his schedule to see how many time are remaining until his contract expires, and woke up this morning to discover the answer is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure here," he informed the media following the loss, after they had doubted his desire for anything resembling a title fight. "Therefore the drive is present to try and flip the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the dreadful beginning to the season being endured by Rangers, Rodgers and his players could typically be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own failure to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has entered the mix. Despite being forced to function with a war-chest that is not just a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the investment and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership equation. In addition to investing £10m during the off-season, the Brighton owner has provided the club sole use of his highly confidential analytics-based proprietary scouting player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to discover unpolished gems from Walsall, 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 their home venue on matchday sporting a club colours, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be observed celebrating each goal with the gusto of a man who had almost certainly noticed the bookies had greatly misjudged his team's chances of defeating the out-of-sorts champions, and filled his boots accordingly.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said bearded Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his team's latest success, their eighth win in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for others on the periphery. It could alter opinions. It may confirm opinions that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have given us. Technically, we appear in a good place, and definitely in fitness we look in a good place, so long may that continue. Of course, this is not a situation that the team is accustomed to being in." Correct, Derek, it isn't. But the wonderful, data-driven truth is that for the first time in ages, the Scottish game might genuinely have a championship battle that somebody besides Celtic or Rangers can claim.