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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the sole surprising aspect of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which taken aback observers appeared when reports of the outcome and its impact for the top of the standings emerged. Although this convincing victory at their home ground, which leaves the Edinburgh side leading of the league and a significant margin ahead of Celtic, was seismic in scale, no one who has been following the progress of either squad this campaign will have been in the least shocked by the result.

For each of the last four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to something of a punchline in the process. Several matches into the present season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who number Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – could be prepared to make their move while the Glasgow duo influence is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

While much of the attention in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being endured by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the situation at their stadium has meant that the title holders' slightly less terminal decay has been able to fester below the radar. The reigning champions have so far lost 10 points from nine fixtures this season under their manager. The team's boss has developed the thousand-yard stare of a man who can't stop consulting his schedule to find out how many time are left until his deal expires, and woke up this day to learn the number is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time at the club," he told reporters following the defeat, after they had questioned his appetite for anything resembling a championship battle. "So the motivation is there to attempt to flip the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the dreadful start to the season being experienced by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his men could typically be expected to get away with 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 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 money and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership equation. As well as putting in ten million pounds during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has granted the club exclusive use of his highly confidential analytics-based Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to unearth unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a modest car. Spotted at their home venue on matchday wearing a club colours, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be seen celebrating each score with the enthusiasm of a person who had likely noticed the bookies had greatly underestimated his team's chances of defeating the out-of-sorts champions, and filled his boots as a result.

COACH'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said bearded team manager Derek McInnes after his team's latest success, their eighth win in nine outings. "It might be for those on the periphery. It could alter perceptions. It may confirm views that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the lads have given us. Technically, we look in a strong position, and certainly physically we look in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Of course, it's not a position that this club is accustomed to being in." No, Derek, it isn't. But the wonderful, data-driven reality is that for the first time in ages, Scottish football might genuinely have a championship battle that a team besides the traditional powers can win.