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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole surprising element of Hearts' triumph over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was just how surprised observers seemed when news of the result and its consequences for the top of the standings circulated. While this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Jambos top of the league and eight points ahead of Celtic, was earth-shattering in scale, nobody who has been following the fortunes of either team this campaign will have been in the least astonished by the final score.

For each of the last four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish league between them, turning fitba to almost a punchline in the meantime. Several matches into the present campaign it has become clear that Hearts – who count Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – could be ready to strike while the Glasgow duo influence is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

While a lot of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being suffered by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at Ibrox has resulted in that Celtic's comparatively less severe decline has been able to fester unnoticed. The reigning champions have so far dropped a considerable number from nine league games this term under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has developed the distant look of a individual who constantly consulting his schedule to see how many time are left until his contract expires, and awoke this day to learn the number is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in all my time at the club," he informed reporters following the defeat, after they had questioned his appetite for any kind of a title fight. "Therefore the drive is present to try and reverse the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the dreadful start to the campaign being endured by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his men could typically be expected to get away with their own inability to roar out of the traps, but this year an capital city challenger has entered the fray. In spite of being forced to operate with a war-chest that is not just a small portion of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have introduced the money and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the SPL mix. In addition to putting in ten million pounds during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has provided Hearts sole use of his top secret analytics-based Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to discover hidden talents 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 modest car. Spotted at their home venue on matchday wearing a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be seen celebrating each goal with the gusto of a man who had almost certainly noticed the oddsmakers had massively underestimated his side's chances of defeating the out-of-sorts champions, and filled his boots 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 latest success, their eighth in nine league matches. "It might be for those on the outside looking in. It might change perceptions. It might validate opinions that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the players have provided us. Technically, we look in a good place, and definitely physically we seem in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Of course, this is not a situation that the team is accustomed to being in." No, the manager, it isn't. But the wonderful, data-driven reality is that for the initial occasion in ages, Scottish football might actually have a championship battle that somebody besides Celtic or Rangers can win.