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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the only unexpected element of Hearts' victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which surprised observers appeared when reports of the outcome and its impact for the top of the table circulated. While this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which leaves the Jambos leading of the table and eight points clear of Celtic, was seismic in nature, no one who has been tracking the fortunes of either squad this season will have been in the least shocked by the final score.

Over the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish football between them, turning fitba to almost a joke in the meantime. Several matches into the present campaign it has become apparent that Hearts – who number celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – might just be prepared to make their move while the Glasgow duo iron is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

Although much of the attention in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at their stadium has resulted in that the title holders' comparatively less severe decay has been able to fester unnoticed. The defending title winners have already dropped 10 points from their opening nine league games this term under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has developed the thousand-yard stare of a individual who constantly checking his Google calendar to find out how many time are left until his contract expires, and awoke this day to discover the number is 246.

"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 flip the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the dreadful start to the season being experienced by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his men could normally be expected to escape scrutiny for their own inability to start strongly, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the mix. Despite being forced to function with a budget that isn't so much a small portion of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have introduced the investment and expertise of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership mix. In addition to putting in ten million pounds during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has provided the club sole use of his highly confidential analytics-based Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to discover unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at their home venue on Sunday wearing a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be seen celebrating each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had likely realized the oddsmakers had greatly underestimated his team's prospects of defeating the out-of-sorts title holders, and placed large bets as a result.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a statement win," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer the head coach after his side's most recent victory, their eighth in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for others on the outside looking in. It might change opinions. It might validate opinions that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the players have provided us. In terms of skill, we look in a good place, and certainly in fitness we look in a good place, so we hope it persists. Naturally, it's not a position that this club is accustomed to being in." Correct, the manager, it isn't. But the wonderful, data-driven truth 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 claim.