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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole surprising element of Hearts' victory over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which surprised people appeared when reports of the result and its consequences for the top of the table emerged. While this convincing victory at their home ground, which puts the Jambos leading of the table and eight points ahead of Celtic, was earth-shattering in scale, nobody who has been tracking the fortunes of both team this season will have been even remotely shocked by the final score.

Over the past four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish football 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 Hearts – who number celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – could be prepared to strike while the Old Firm iron is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

Although a lot of the focus in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at their stadium has resulted in that Celtic's comparatively less severe decay has been able to worsen below the radar. The defending title winners have already lost 10 points from nine league games this term under their manager. The team's boss has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a individual who constantly checking his Google calendar to see how many days are left until his contract ends, and awoke this day to discover the answer is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure here," he informed reporters following the loss, after they had questioned his desire for any kind of a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is there to try and reverse the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the horrific beginning to the season being experienced by Rangers, Rodgers and his players could typically be anticipated to get away with their own inability to start strongly, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has entered the fray. In spite of being obliged 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 introduced the money and expertise of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership mix. As well as putting in ten million pounds during the off-season, the Brighton owner has provided Hearts sole use of his highly confidential data-driven proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to unearth hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday sporting a club colours, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be seen cheering each score with the gusto of a man who had likely realized the bookies had greatly misjudged his team's prospects of defeating the struggling champions, and placed large bets accordingly.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired team manager Derek McInnes after his side's latest success, their eighth in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for others on the periphery. It could alter opinions. It may confirm views that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the players have provided us. Technically, we appear in a good place, and certainly physically we look in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Naturally, it's not a position that the team is used to being in." No, the manager, it is not. But the glorious, data-driven reality is that for the initial occasion in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a championship battle that a team besides the traditional powers can win.