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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 observers seemed when news of the result and its consequences for the top of the table emerged. Although this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which leaves the Jambos leading of the table and a significant margin ahead of Celtic, was earth-shattering in scale, no one who has been following the fortunes of both squad this campaign will have been in the least shocked by the result.

For each of the last 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish league between them, turning fitba to almost a punchline in the process. Several matches into the current campaign it has become clear that Hearts – who count Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – might just be ready to strike while the Glasgow duo iron is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

Although much 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 Ibrox has resulted in that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been allowed to fester unnoticed. The defending title winners have so far dropped 10 points from nine fixtures this term 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 ends, and woke up this day to discover the answer is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time here," he told reporters following the defeat, after they had questioned his appetite for anything resembling a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is there to try and reverse the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the horrific start to the season being endured by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his men could typically be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own inability to roar out of the traps, but this year an capital city challenger has entered the mix. In spite of being obliged to operate with a war-chest that is not just a small portion of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the money and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the SPL equation. As well as putting in ten million pounds during the off-season, the Brighton owner has granted the club exclusive use of his top secret data-driven proprietary scouting player identification system.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to discover unpolished gems 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 mid-range family saloon. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday wearing a club colours, the notoriously astute professional gambler 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 beating the out-of-sorts title holders, and placed large bets as a result.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said bearded team manager Derek McInnes after his team's latest victory, their eighth win in nine league matches. "It might be for others on the outside looking in. It might change perceptions. It might validate opinions that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the players have given us. In terms of skill, we look in a good place, and certainly physically we seem in a good place, so we hope it persists. Of course, this is not a situation that this club is accustomed to being in." No, Derek, it is not. But the wonderful, analytics-backed truth is that for the first time in ages, Scottish football might actually have a title race that a team besides Celtic or Rangers can claim.