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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole unexpected aspect of Hearts' victory over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which taken aback observers appeared when reports of the outcome and its impact for the top of the standings circulated. Although this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Edinburgh side top of the league and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was seismic in nature, no one who has been following the progress of both squad this campaign will have been even remotely shocked by the final score.

For each of the last four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish league between them, reducing the beautiful game to something of a joke in the meantime. Several matches into the present campaign it has become apparent that Hearts – who count Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – might just be ready to make their move while the Glasgow duo iron is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

While a lot of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being suffered by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at Ibrox has meant that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been able to worsen unnoticed. The reigning champions have so far dropped 10 points from nine fixtures this season under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a individual who constantly checking his Google calendar to find out how many days are left until his contract ends, and woke up this day to discover the answer is 246.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure at the club," he informed the media following the loss, after they had questioned his desire for any kind of a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is present to attempt to reverse the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the dreadful start to the campaign being experienced by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his players could normally be anticipated to get away with their own inability to roar out of the traps, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the mix. Despite being obliged to function with a budget that is not just a small portion of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have added the investment and expertise of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership mix. As well as investing £10m during the off-season, the Brighton owner has provided Hearts sole use of his top secret analytics-based Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to unearth hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at their home venue on Sunday sporting a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be seen cheering each score with the gusto of a person who had likely noticed the oddsmakers had massively underestimated his team's prospects of defeating the out-of-sorts title holders, and placed large bets accordingly.

COACH'S REACTION

"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. "Perhaps it is for others on the periphery. It could alter perceptions. It may confirm opinions that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the lads have given us. Technically, we look in a good place, and definitely in fitness we seem in a good place, so we hope it persists. Of course, it's not a position that the team is used to being in." No, Derek, it is not. But the glorious, analytics-backed truth is that for the first time in ages, Scottish football might actually have a title race that a team besides the traditional powers can win.