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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the only unexpected element of Hearts' triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was just how taken aback people appeared when reports of the outcome and its consequences for the summit of the standings circulated. While this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Jambos leading of the league and a significant margin ahead of their rivals, was seismic in scale, nobody who has been following the progress of both team this campaign will have been even remotely shocked by the final score.

Over 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 current season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who number celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – could be ready to make their move while the Glasgow duo influence is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

Although a lot of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being suffered by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at Ibrox has resulted in that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been allowed to fester below the radar. The defending title winners have already dropped a considerable number from their opening nine fixtures this term under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a individual who can't stop checking his schedule to see how many time are remaining until his contract expires, and awoke this day to learn the number is 246.

"I've never worked harder in all my time here," he informed the media following the defeat, after they had doubted his appetite for anything resembling a title fight. "So the motivation is present to attempt to flip the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the dreadful start to the season being experienced by Rangers, Rodgers and his men could typically be expected to get away with their own failure to roar out of the traps, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the fray. In spite of being obliged to function with a budget that is not just a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have introduced the investment and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership mix. In addition to investing ten million pounds during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has granted Hearts sole use of his top secret analytics-based Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to unearth unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, 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 notoriously astute professional gambler could be observed celebrating each score with the gusto of a person who had almost certainly noticed the bookies had massively misjudged his side's chances of defeating the out-of-sorts champions, and filled his boots accordingly.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said bearded Hearts gaffer the head coach after his side's most recent victory, their eighth in nine outings. "It might be for others on the periphery. It could alter opinions. It may confirm views that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the players have provided us. Technically, we look 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." No, the manager, it isn't. But the wonderful, data-driven reality is that for the initial occasion in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a championship battle that a team besides the traditional powers can win.