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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole unexpected aspect of Hearts' triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how surprised people seemed when news of the outcome and its consequences for the summit of the standings circulated. While this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which puts the Jambos top of the table and a significant margin ahead of Celtic, was earth-shattering in nature, no one who has been tracking the fortunes of both team this campaign will have been even remotely shocked by the result.

Over the past four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish league between them, turning the beautiful game to almost a joke in the meantime. Nine games into the present season it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their famous supporters – could be ready to strike while the Glasgow duo influence is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

While a lot of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being endured by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at their stadium has resulted in that the title holders' comparatively less severe decay has been able to worsen unnoticed. The defending title winners have already dropped a considerable number from nine league games this season under their manager. 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 expires, and woke up this day to learn the answer is over two hundred.

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

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the dreadful start to the campaign being endured by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his players could normally be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own inability to start strongly, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the fray. Despite being obliged to function with a budget that isn't so much a small portion of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have added the money and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership equation. In addition to putting in £10m during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has granted Hearts exclusive use of his highly confidential data-driven proprietary scouting player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to unearth unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a modest car. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday sporting a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be seen celebrating each goal with the gusto of a man who had almost certainly realized the oddsmakers had massively underestimated his team'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 Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his side's latest success, their eighth win in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for those on the periphery. It could alter opinions. It may confirm opinions that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the players have given us. Technically, we look in a good place, and certainly in fitness we look in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Naturally, this is not a situation that the team is accustomed to being in." Correct, the manager, it isn't. But the wonderful, data-driven 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.