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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the sole surprising element of Hearts' triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which surprised observers seemed when reports of the result and its impact for the top of the standings circulated. Although this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which leaves 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 progress of either squad this campaign will have been even remotely astonished by the result.

Over the past 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish league between them, reducing the beautiful game to something of a punchline in the process. Nine games into the current campaign it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – might just be ready to make their move while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

While a lot of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the situation at Ibrox has resulted in that the title holders' comparatively less severe decline has been allowed to worsen unnoticed. The defending title winners have already dropped a considerable number from their opening nine fixtures this term under their manager. The team's boss has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a individual who can't stop consulting his schedule to see how many time are left until his deal expires, and woke up this day to discover the answer is 246.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure here," he told the media following the loss, after they had questioned his desire for anything resembling a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is there to try and flip the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the horrific start to the season being experienced by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his men could typically be anticipated to get away with their own failure to start strongly, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the mix. Despite being forced to operate with a budget that is not just a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the investment and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the SPL equation. In addition to putting in £10m during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has granted the club exclusive use of his highly confidential data-driven proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to unearth unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a modest car. Seen at their home venue on Sunday wearing a club colours, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be observed cheering each score with the enthusiasm of a man who had likely realized the bookies had massively underestimated his team's prospects of beating the out-of-sorts champions, and filled his boots as a result.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said bearded Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his team's latest success, their eighth in nine league matches. "It might be for those on the outside looking in. It might change perceptions. It might validate views that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the lads have provided us. Technically, we look in a good place, and certainly in fitness we seem in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Naturally, it's not a position that this club is accustomed to being in." No, the manager, it is not. But the glorious, analytics-backed truth is that for the initial occasion in many years, Scottish football might actually have a title race that somebody other than the traditional powers can claim.