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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the only surprising element of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was just how taken aback people appeared when reports of the outcome and its impact for the summit of the standings circulated. Although this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Edinburgh side top of the table and eight points clear of Celtic, was earth-shattering in scale, no one who has been tracking the fortunes of either team this season will have been in the least shocked by the final score.

For each of the last 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish league between them, reducing the beautiful game to something of a punchline in the process. Several matches into the present season it has become apparent that Hearts – who count celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – could be prepared to make their move while the Old Firm influence is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

Although a lot of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being endured by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at their stadium has resulted in that Celtic's slightly less terminal decay has been allowed to fester below the radar. The reigning champions have so far dropped a considerable number from nine fixtures this season under their manager. The team's boss has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a man who constantly consulting his Google calendar to find out how many time are remaining until his deal expires, and woke up this morning to learn the number is 246.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure here," he informed the media following the loss, after they had questioned his desire for anything resembling a title fight. "Therefore the drive is there to try and flip the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the horrific beginning to the campaign being endured by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his players could typically be expected to escape scrutiny for their own inability to start strongly, but this year an capital city challenger has entered the mix. Despite being forced to function with a war-chest that isn't so much a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have added the investment and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the SPL mix. In addition to investing ten million pounds during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has provided Hearts exclusive use of his top secret data-driven Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to discover hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovak first division 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 wearing a club colours, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be seen cheering each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had likely realized the oddsmakers had massively misjudged his side's chances of beating the out-of-sorts title holders, and filled his boots accordingly.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said bearded team manager Derek McInnes after his side's latest victory, their eighth in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for those on the periphery. It might change opinions. It may confirm views that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have provided us. Technically, we look in a strong position, and certainly physically we look in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Naturally, it's not a position that the team is used to being in." Correct, Derek, it isn't. But the wonderful, analytics-backed reality is that for the first time in many years, Scottish football might actually have a championship battle that a team other than Celtic or Rangers can claim.