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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole surprising aspect of Heart of Midlothian's victory over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which surprised people seemed when news of the outcome and its impact for the summit of the table emerged. Although this convincing victory at their home ground, which leaves the Jambos leading of the league and a significant margin clear of their rivals, was seismic in nature, nobody who has been following the fortunes of either team this campaign will have been even remotely shocked by the result.

Over the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to almost a punchline in the meantime. Several matches into the present campaign it has become apparent that Hearts – who count Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their famous supporters – might just be ready to make their move while the Old Firm iron is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

Although a lot of the focus in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being suffered by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the situation at their stadium has meant that the title holders' slightly less terminal decline has been able to worsen unnoticed. The defending title winners have already dropped 10 points from nine fixtures this season under their manager. The Celtic manager has acquired the distant look of a individual who can't stop consulting his Google calendar to see how many days are remaining until his deal ends, and awoke this day to learn the answer is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure here," he informed reporters following the defeat, after they had questioned his appetite for anything resembling a title fight. "So the motivation is present to try and reverse the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the horrific start to the campaign being experienced by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his players could typically be expected to get away with their own inability to start strongly, but this year an capital city challenger has joined the mix. Despite 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 added the investment and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the SPL mix. In addition to investing £10m during the summer, the Brighton owner has provided the club exclusive use of his top secret analytics-based Jamestown Analytics 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 Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a modest car. Spotted at Tynecastle on matchday sporting a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be seen celebrating each score with the enthusiasm of a person who had almost certainly realized the oddsmakers had greatly misjudged his side's chances of defeating the struggling title holders, and placed large bets accordingly.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said bearded Hearts gaffer the head coach after his team's latest success, their eighth win in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for those on the outside looking in. 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 provided us. Technically, we appear in a strong position, and definitely in fitness we look 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, the manager, it is not. But the wonderful, analytics-backed truth is that for the first time in many years, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that a team other than the traditional powers can win.