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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the sole surprising aspect of Hearts' triumph over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which taken aback people seemed when news of the result and its consequences for the top of the table emerged. Although this 3-1 win at their home ground, which leaves the Edinburgh side leading of the table and eight points ahead of Celtic, was earth-shattering in nature, nobody who has been tracking the progress of both squad this campaign will have been even remotely shocked by the result.

For each of the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish league between them, reducing the beautiful game to something of a punchline in the process. Several matches into the current campaign it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who number Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – could be prepared to strike while the Glasgow duo influence is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

While a lot of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at their stadium has meant that Celtic's comparatively less severe decline has been allowed to worsen below the radar. The defending title winners have already lost a considerable number from nine league games this season under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has acquired the distant look of a man who can't stop checking his Google calendar to find out how many time are remaining until his contract expires, and awoke this morning to discover the answer is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time at the club," he told the media following the defeat, after they had questioned his desire for anything resembling a title fight. "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

Given the horrific start to the campaign being experienced by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his men could typically be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own failure to start strongly, but this year an capital city challenger has joined the fray. In spite of being forced to operate with a budget that is not just a small portion of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have added the investment and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the SPL equation. As well as putting in £10m during the off-season, the Brighton owner has provided the club exclusive use of his highly confidential analytics-based Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to discover hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a modest car. Spotted at Tynecastle on Sunday sporting a club colours, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be seen cheering each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had likely noticed the bookies had massively misjudged his team's prospects of defeating the out-of-sorts champions, and placed large bets as a result.

COACH'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said bearded team manager Derek McInnes after his side's latest victory, their eighth win in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for those on the periphery. It could alter opinions. It might validate views that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the players have given us. Technically, we appear in a strong position, and certainly in fitness we seem in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Naturally, this is not a situation that this club is accustomed to being in." No, Derek, it isn't. But the wonderful, analytics-backed reality is that for the initial occasion in many years, Scottish football might actually have a championship battle that somebody other than the traditional powers can win.