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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the only surprising aspect of Hearts' victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how surprised observers seemed when reports of the result and its consequences for the top of the standings emerged. Although this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Edinburgh side top of the table and eight points ahead of their rivals, was seismic in scale, no one who has been following the fortunes of either team this season will have been in the least astonished by the final score.

For each of the last 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish football between them, turning fitba to almost a joke in the meantime. Nine games into the current season it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their famous supporters – could be ready to make their move while the Glasgow duo influence is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

While a lot of the focus in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at their stadium has meant that Celtic's comparatively less severe decline has been able to fester unnoticed. The defending title winners have so far dropped a considerable number from their opening nine league games this term under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has developed the thousand-yard stare of a man who can't stop checking his Google calendar to find out how many days are left until his deal expires, and woke up this morning to discover the answer is 246.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure here," he told reporters following the loss, after they had questioned his appetite for anything resembling a title fight. "So the motivation is present to attempt to reverse the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the dreadful start to the campaign being endured by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his players could normally be expected to get away with their own failure to start strongly, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has joined the fray. Despite being forced to function with a budget that is not just a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have added the investment and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the SPL mix. In addition to putting in ten million pounds during the summer, the Brighton owner has provided the club sole use of his highly confidential analytics-based Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to unearth hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a modest car. Spotted at Tynecastle on Sunday sporting a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be seen celebrating each score with the enthusiasm of a man who had likely noticed the oddsmakers had greatly underestimated his side's prospects of beating the out-of-sorts champions, and placed large bets accordingly.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said the facial-haired team manager the head coach after his team's latest victory, their eighth win in nine league matches. "It might be for others on the periphery. It could alter opinions. It may confirm views that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the players have provided us. In terms of skill, we look in a strong position, and definitely in fitness we seem in a good place, so we hope it persists. Of course, it's not a position that this club is used to being in." No, the manager, it isn't. But the glorious, analytics-backed reality is that for the first time in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that a team other than the traditional powers can win.