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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the only surprising element of Hearts' victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how taken aback people appeared when news of the result and its impact for the summit of the standings emerged. Although this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Jambos top of the table and a significant margin ahead of their rivals, was seismic in scale, nobody who has been following the fortunes of either team this season will have been even remotely shocked by the result.

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 something of a joke in the meantime. Nine games into the present season it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who count celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – might just be ready to strike while the Glasgow duo influence is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

While much of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at their stadium has resulted in that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been able to fester unnoticed. The reigning champions have already dropped 10 points from nine fixtures this term under their manager. The Celtic manager has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a man who constantly checking his Google calendar to find out how many time are remaining until his contract ends, and awoke this day to learn the answer is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure at the club," he told the media following the loss, after they had doubted his appetite for anything resembling a title fight. "So the motivation is present to try and flip the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the dreadful beginning to the season being experienced by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his players could normally be anticipated to get away with 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 operate with a war-chest that isn't so much a small portion of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have added the money and expertise of a renowned businessman to the SPL equation. As well as investing £10m during the summer, the Brighton owner has granted the club exclusive use of his top secret analytics-based proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to discover hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at their home venue on Sunday wearing a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be seen cheering each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had almost certainly noticed the oddsmakers had massively misjudged his side's prospects of defeating the struggling title holders, and placed large bets accordingly.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a statement win," said bearded team manager the head coach after his team's latest success, their eighth win in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for those on the outside looking in. It could alter perceptions. It might validate opinions that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the players have given us. Technically, we look in a strong position, and definitely in fitness we look in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Of course, this is not a situation that this club is accustomed to being in." No, Derek, it isn't. But the wonderful, analytics-backed reality is that for the initial occasion in many years, the Scottish game might genuinely have a title race that a team other than the traditional powers can claim.