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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the sole unexpected element of Heart of Midlothian's victory over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was just how taken aback people appeared when news of the outcome and its consequences for the summit of the table emerged. While this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which puts the Edinburgh side top of the table and eight points clear of Celtic, was seismic in scale, nobody who has been tracking the fortunes of both team this season will have been in the least astonished by the final score.

For each of the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish league between them, reducing the beautiful game to something of a punchline in the meantime. Several matches into the present campaign it has become clear that Hearts – who count Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – might just be ready to strike while the Glasgow duo influence is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

While a lot of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at Ibrox has resulted in that Celtic's comparatively less severe decline has been allowed to worsen below the radar. The defending title winners have already lost 10 points from their opening nine fixtures this season under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has developed the thousand-yard stare of a man who constantly consulting his Google calendar to see how many time are remaining until his deal ends, and awoke this day to discover the answer is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in all my time here," he informed reporters following the defeat, after they had questioned his appetite for any kind of a title fight. "So the motivation is present to attempt to flip the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the dreadful start to the campaign being endured by Rangers, Rodgers and his men could normally be expected to escape scrutiny for their own inability to start strongly, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has entered the mix. Despite being forced to operate with a war-chest that is not just a small portion of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have introduced the money and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership mix. As well as investing ten million pounds during the off-season, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts exclusive use of his top secret data-driven proprietary scouting player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to discover hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at Tynecastle on Sunday wearing a club colours, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be observed celebrating each goal with the gusto of a man who had likely realized the bookies had massively misjudged his side's prospects of beating the struggling title holders, and filled his boots accordingly.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer the head coach after his side's latest victory, their eighth in nine outings. "It might be for those on the outside looking in. It could alter opinions. It may confirm 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 appear in a good place, and definitely in fitness we look in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Of course, it's not a position 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 ages, Scottish football might actually have a championship battle that a team other than the traditional powers can win.