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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the only surprising element of Hearts' victory over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which taken aback observers appeared when reports of the result and its impact for the top of the standings emerged. While this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which puts the Edinburgh side top of the table and a significant margin ahead of Celtic, was earth-shattering in scale, nobody who has been tracking the progress of both squad this campaign will have been in the least shocked by the final score.

Over the past 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish football between them, reducing fitba to almost a joke in the meantime. Several matches into the present campaign it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who count celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their famous supporters – might just be prepared to strike while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

Although a lot of the focus in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at Ibrox has resulted in that the title holders' comparatively less severe decay has been able to worsen below the radar. The defending title winners have already lost a considerable number from nine fixtures this season under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has developed the thousand-yard stare of a man who constantly consulting his schedule to see how many days are remaining until his contract expires, and woke up this morning to discover the answer is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure here," he told the media following the defeat, after they had doubted his appetite for anything resembling a championship battle. "So the motivation is there to attempt to flip the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the dreadful beginning to the season being endured by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his men could normally be expected to get away with their own failure to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the mix. In spite of being forced to function with a war-chest that isn't so much a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have added the money and expertise of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership mix. In addition to investing ten million pounds during the off-season, the Brighton owner has granted the club exclusive use of his top secret data-driven Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to discover unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a modest car. Spotted at their home venue on matchday wearing a club colours, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be seen cheering each score with the gusto of a man who had almost certainly noticed the bookies had greatly underestimated his team's chances of defeating the struggling title holders, and placed large bets accordingly.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a statement win," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his team's latest success, their eighth in nine outings. "It might be for others on the outside looking in. It could alter perceptions. It may confirm opinions that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the players have provided us. In terms of skill, we appear in a good place, and definitely in fitness we seem 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, the manager, it is not. But the glorious, analytics-backed truth is that for the first time in ages, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that a team besides Celtic or Rangers can win.