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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole unexpected aspect of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which surprised observers appeared when reports of the result and its consequences for the summit of the standings circulated. While this convincing victory at their home ground, which leaves the Jambos top of the league and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was earth-shattering in nature, no one who has been following the progress of either squad this campaign will have been in the least shocked by the final score.

Over the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to almost a punchline in the meantime. Nine games into the current campaign it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who number Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – might just be ready to strike while the Old Firm influence is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

Although a lot of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the situation at their stadium has resulted in that Celtic's slightly less terminal decay has been allowed to fester unnoticed. The reigning champions have so far dropped 10 points from their opening nine fixtures this season under their manager. The team's boss has developed the thousand-yard stare of a individual who constantly consulting his Google calendar to see how many days are left until his deal expires, and awoke this day to learn the number is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure at the club," he told the media following the loss, after they had questioned his appetite for any kind of a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is present to try and reverse the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the horrific start to the season being endured by Rangers, Rodgers and his players could typically be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own inability to start strongly, but this year an capital city challenger has entered the fray. 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 investment and expertise of a renowned businessman to the SPL equation. As well as investing £10m during the off-season, the Brighton owner has provided the club sole use of his highly confidential data-driven proprietary scouting player identification system.

In an Irish defender, 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 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 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 oddsmakers had massively underestimated his side's prospects of beating the struggling champions, and filled his boots as a result.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired team manager the head coach after his side's most recent success, their eighth win in nine league matches. "It might be for others on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It might validate opinions that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the players have given us. Technically, we appear in a good place, and certainly in fitness we seem in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Of course, this is not a situation that this club is used to being in." Correct, the manager, it is not. But the wonderful, data-driven reality is that for the first time in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a championship battle that somebody besides Celtic or Rangers can win.