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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the only unexpected aspect of Hearts' victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was just how taken aback people seemed when news of the outcome and its consequences for the top of the table emerged. Although this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which leaves the Jambos top of the league and eight points ahead of their rivals, was seismic in scale, no one who has been tracking the fortunes of both team this season will have been in the least shocked by the result.

For each of the last 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish league between them, turning fitba to something of a punchline in the meantime. Nine games into the present campaign it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – might just be ready to make their move while the Glasgow duo influence is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

While a lot of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at their stadium has meant that the title holders' slightly less terminal decline has been allowed to worsen unnoticed. The defending title winners have already dropped a considerable number from their opening nine fixtures this term under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a man who constantly consulting his schedule to find out how many days are remaining until his deal ends, and woke up this day to discover the answer is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in all my time here," he told reporters following the defeat, after they had questioned his desire for any kind of a title fight. "So the motivation is present to try and reverse the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the horrific start to the campaign being experienced by Rangers, Rodgers and his players could typically be anticipated to get away with their own failure to start strongly, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the mix. Despite being obliged to operate with a war-chest that is not just a small portion of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have added the money and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership equation. As well as investing ten million pounds during the summer, the Brighton owner has granted the club exclusive use of his highly confidential analytics-based proprietary scouting player identification system.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to discover unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a modest car. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday sporting a club colours, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be seen celebrating each score with the gusto of a person who had likely noticed the oddsmakers had greatly underestimated his side's prospects of defeating the struggling champions, and placed large bets accordingly.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said bearded team manager Derek McInnes after his side's latest victory, their eighth win in nine outings. "It might be for those on the outside looking in. It might change perceptions. It might validate opinions that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the lads have given us. Technically, we appear in a good place, and certainly physically we seem in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Of course, 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 ages, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that a team besides Celtic or Rangers can win.