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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the sole surprising element of Hearts' victory over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was just how surprised people appeared when reports of the result and its consequences for the top of the standings emerged. While this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which leaves the Edinburgh side leading of the league and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was earth-shattering in scale, no one who has been tracking the fortunes of either team this campaign will have been in the least shocked by the result.

For each of the past four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish league between them, reducing fitba to almost a punchline in the process. Several matches into the present season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who number Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their famous supporters – could be prepared to make their move while the Glasgow duo iron is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

Although a lot of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being endured by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at Ibrox has resulted in that Celtic's comparatively less severe decline has been able to fester unnoticed. The defending title winners have already dropped a considerable number from nine fixtures this term under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a man who can't stop consulting his Google calendar to find out how many time are left until his deal ends, and woke up this morning to learn the answer is 246.

"I've never worked harder in all my time at the club," he informed reporters following the loss, after they had questioned his appetite for anything resembling a championship battle. "So the motivation is present to try and flip the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the dreadful start to the season being endured by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his players could normally be expected to escape scrutiny for their own failure to start strongly, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has joined the fray. In spite of being forced to operate with a budget that isn't so much a small portion of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the investment and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the SPL equation. In addition to investing £10m during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has granted the club sole use of his top secret data-driven Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to unearth hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a modest car. Seen at their home venue on Sunday sporting a club colours, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be seen cheering each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had almost certainly realized the bookies had greatly misjudged his team's chances of beating the out-of-sorts champions, and placed large bets as a result.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said bearded team manager Derek McInnes after his side's latest success, their eighth win in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for those on the outside looking in. It could alter opinions. It might validate opinions that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the players have provided us. Technically, we look in a strong position, and definitely physically we look in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Of course, it's not a position that this club is used to being in." Correct, the manager, it is not. But the wonderful, analytics-backed reality is that for the initial occasion in ages, the Scottish game might genuinely have a championship battle that somebody besides Celtic or Rangers can win.