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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole surprising element of Heart of Midlothian's victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how taken aback observers appeared when news of the outcome and its impact 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 nature, nobody who has been tracking the fortunes of either team this season will have been in the least shocked by the result.

Over the last four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to almost a punchline in the process. Nine games into the current season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – could be prepared to strike while the Glasgow duo influence is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

While much of the focus in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being endured by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at their stadium has meant that Celtic's comparatively less severe decline has been able to fester below the radar. The reigning champions have so far dropped 10 points from their opening nine league games this term under their manager. The team's boss has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a individual who can't stop checking his schedule to see how many days are remaining until his contract expires, and awoke this day to discover the answer is 246.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure here," he informed reporters following the loss, after they had doubted his appetite for anything resembling a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is present to try and flip the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

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 failure to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has joined the mix. Despite being forced to operate with a war-chest that isn't so much a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have added the money and expertise of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership equation. In addition to investing £10m during the off-season, the Brighton owner has provided the club exclusive use of his highly confidential data-driven Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to unearth hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a modest car. Spotted at Tynecastle on matchday wearing a club colours, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be observed cheering each goal with the gusto of a man who had likely realized the oddsmakers had greatly underestimated his side's prospects of defeating the out-of-sorts title holders, and placed large bets as a result.

COACH'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a statement win," said bearded Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his side's most recent victory, their eighth in nine outings. "It might be for those on the outside looking in. It could alter opinions. It might validate opinions that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the players have provided us. Technically, we look in a good place, and definitely physically we seem in a good place, so we hope it persists. Naturally, it's not a position that the team is used to being in." Correct, the manager, it isn't. But the glorious, data-driven truth is that for the initial occasion in many years, Scottish football might actually have a championship battle that a team besides Celtic or Rangers can claim.