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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the only surprising aspect of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was just how taken aback observers appeared when reports of the result and its consequences for the summit of the table circulated. Although this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which leaves the Edinburgh side top of the table and a significant margin ahead of their rivals, was seismic in scale, no one who has been following the progress of either squad this campaign will have been even remotely shocked by the final score.

Over the past four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish football between them, turning fitba to something of a joke in the meantime. Nine games into the present season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – could be prepared to make their move 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 resulted in that Celtic's comparatively less severe decay has been allowed to fester below the radar. The defending title winners have so far lost 10 points from their opening nine league games this term under their manager. The team's boss has developed the thousand-yard stare of a individual who can't stop consulting his schedule to see how many time are left until his deal ends, and woke up this day to discover the answer is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort 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. "Therefore the drive is present to attempt to flip the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the dreadful beginning to the season being endured by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his men could normally be expected to escape scrutiny for their own failure to roar out of the traps, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the mix. Despite being forced to function with a budget that isn't so much a small portion of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have introduced the investment and expertise of Tony Bloom to the SPL equation. In addition to putting in ten million pounds during the off-season, the Brighton owner has granted the club exclusive use of his highly confidential analytics-based proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, 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 total price of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at their home venue on matchday wearing a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be seen cheering each goal with the gusto of a man who had likely realized the oddsmakers had greatly misjudged his team's chances of beating the out-of-sorts title holders, and placed large bets accordingly.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a statement win," said the facial-haired team manager the head coach after his side's most recent victory, their eighth in nine outings. "It might be for those on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It may confirm opinions that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the players have provided us. In terms of skill, we appear in a good place, and certainly physically we look in a good place, so we hope it persists. Naturally, it's not a position that the team is accustomed to being in." No, Derek, it is not. But the wonderful, analytics-backed reality is that for the initial occasion in ages, the Scottish game might genuinely have a title race that a team besides Celtic or Rangers can win.