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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the sole unexpected aspect of Heart of Midlothian's victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which taken aback people appeared when news of the result and its consequences for the top of the standings emerged. While this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which leaves the Jambos top of the league and a significant margin clear of their rivals, was seismic in nature, nobody who has been following the fortunes of both team this campaign will have been even remotely shocked by the final score.

For each of the past four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish league between them, reducing fitba to almost a joke in the meantime. Nine games into the current season it has become clear that Hearts – who count Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their famous supporters – could be ready to strike while the Old Firm influence is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

Although much of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at Ibrox has meant that the title holders' comparatively less severe decay has been able to worsen below the radar. The reigning champions have so far lost a considerable number from nine fixtures this term under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has developed the distant look of a man who constantly checking his schedule to find out how many days are remaining until his deal ends, and woke up this morning to discover the answer is 246.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure at the club," he informed the media following the defeat, after they had doubted his appetite for any kind of a championship battle. "So the motivation is present to try and flip the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the horrific start to the season being experienced by Rangers, Rodgers and his men could typically be anticipated to get away with their own inability to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has entered the mix. In spite of being obliged to function with a war-chest that isn't so much a small portion of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the investment and expertise of a renowned businessman to the SPL mix. As well as putting in £10m during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has granted the club sole use of his highly confidential analytics-based proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to discover unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a modest car. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday sporting a club colours, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be observed cheering each score with the gusto of a person who had almost certainly noticed the bookies had greatly underestimated his side's chances of defeating the out-of-sorts title holders, and filled his boots as a result.

COACH'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said the facial-haired team manager Derek McInnes after his side's latest success, their eighth win in nine outings. "It might be for others on the outside looking in. It could alter opinions. It may confirm opinions that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have provided us. In terms of skill, we look in a strong position, and definitely in fitness we look in a good place, so we hope it persists. Naturally, it's not a position that this club is accustomed to being in." Correct, Derek, it isn't. But the wonderful, analytics-backed reality is that for the first time in many years, the Scottish game might actually have a championship battle that a team other than the traditional powers can claim.