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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole unexpected element of Heart of Midlothian's victory over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was just how surprised people appeared when reports of the outcome and its impact for the summit of the standings emerged. Although this convincing victory at their home ground, which leaves the Edinburgh side leading of the league and eight points clear of Celtic, was seismic in scale, nobody who has been tracking the progress of either squad this campaign will have been even remotely astonished by the final score.

Over the last 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 joke in the meantime. Several matches into the present campaign it has become apparent that Hearts – who count Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – could be ready to make their move while the Old Firm iron is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

Although much of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being endured by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the situation at their stadium has meant that Celtic's slightly less terminal decay has been able to fester below the radar. The defending title winners have already dropped a considerable number from nine league games this season under their manager. The team's boss has acquired the distant look of a man who constantly checking his schedule to see how many time are left until his contract ends, and awoke this morning to discover the number is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure here," he informed the media following the loss, after they had questioned his desire for anything resembling a championship battle. "So the motivation is there to attempt to flip the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the dreadful beginning to the season being endured by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his men could typically be expected to get away with their own failure to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the fray. In spite of being forced to operate with a war-chest that isn't so much a small portion of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have introduced the investment and expertise of a renowned businessman to the SPL mix. In addition to investing ten million pounds during the off-season, the Brighton owner has provided Hearts sole use of his top secret data-driven Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to unearth hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a modest car. Seen at their home venue on matchday wearing a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be seen cheering each score with the gusto of a man who had likely realized the bookies had massively misjudged his team's prospects of defeating the out-of-sorts champions, and placed large bets as a result.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said bearded team manager Derek McInnes after his side's most recent victory, their eighth win in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for others on the outside looking in. It could alter opinions. It may confirm opinions that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the players have provided us. In terms of skill, we appear in a strong position, and certainly physically we seem in a good place, so long may that continue. Of course, it's not a position that the team is accustomed to being in." No, Derek, it is not. But the wonderful, data-driven truth is that for the initial occasion in ages, Scottish football might genuinely have a championship battle that a team other than Celtic or Rangers can claim.