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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the only surprising element of Hearts' triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was just how taken aback observers seemed when reports of the result and its consequences for the summit of the table emerged. Although this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Edinburgh side leading of the league and eight points clear of Celtic, was earth-shattering in scale, nobody who has been following the progress of either squad this campaign will have been even remotely shocked by the final score.

For each of the past four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish football between them, reducing fitba to almost a punchline in the process. Nine games into the current season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – could be ready to strike while the Old Firm influence is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

Although much of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being endured by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at Ibrox has meant that Celtic's comparatively less severe decline has been able to worsen below the radar. The reigning champions have already dropped a considerable number from nine league games this term under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has developed the thousand-yard stare of a man who can't stop checking his schedule to find out how many time are left until his contract expires, and awoke this morning to learn the answer is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time here," he told reporters following the loss, after they had questioned his desire for any kind of a championship battle. "So the motivation is there to try and reverse the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the dreadful beginning to the season being experienced by Rangers, Rodgers and his players could normally be expected to escape scrutiny for their own failure to start strongly, but this year an capital city challenger has joined the mix. In spite of being obliged to function with a war-chest that is not just a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have added the investment and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the SPL mix. In addition to putting in ten million pounds during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has provided Hearts exclusive use of his highly confidential data-driven proprietary scouting player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has allowed 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 modest car. Spotted at Tynecastle on Sunday wearing a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be observed celebrating each score with the gusto of a person who had almost certainly realized the oddsmakers had greatly underestimated his side's chances of beating the out-of-sorts title holders, and placed large bets accordingly.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired team manager the head coach after his team's latest victory, their eighth win in nine outings. "It might be for those on the outside looking in. It could alter opinions. It might validate views that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the players have given us. Technically, we appear in a strong position, and certainly physically we look in a good place, so we hope it persists. Naturally, this is not a situation that this club is accustomed to being in." No, Derek, it isn't. But the wonderful, data-driven reality is that for the first time in many years, the Scottish game might genuinely have a championship battle that somebody other than Celtic or Rangers can win.