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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the only surprising element of Hearts' victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which taken aback observers appeared when reports of the result and its impact for the summit of the standings circulated. Although this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which puts the Edinburgh side top of the league and eight points clear of Celtic, was earth-shattering in scale, nobody who has been following the fortunes of either squad this season will have been in the least shocked by the final score.

For each of the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish league between them, reducing the beautiful game to almost a punchline in the meantime. Several matches into the current campaign it has become apparent that Hearts – who count Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – could be prepared to make their move while the Glasgow duo influence is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

While a lot of the attention in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being suffered by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at Ibrox has meant that Celtic's comparatively less severe decay has been allowed to worsen below the radar. The reigning champions have already dropped 10 points from their opening nine league games this season under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has developed the thousand-yard stare of a individual who constantly checking his schedule to see how many time are remaining until his deal ends, and awoke this day to learn the answer is 246.

"I've never worked harder in all my time here," he told reporters following the defeat, after they had questioned his appetite for any kind of a title fight. "Therefore the drive is present to attempt to flip the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the dreadful beginning to the season being experienced by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his men could normally be expected to escape scrutiny for their own inability to start strongly, but this year an capital city challenger has entered the fray. In spite of being obliged to operate with a budget that is not just a small portion of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have added the investment and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership equation. As well as putting in ten million pounds during the off-season, the Brighton owner has provided Hearts sole use of his top secret analytics-based Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to unearth hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a modest car. Spotted at Tynecastle on Sunday wearing a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be seen cheering each score with the enthusiasm of a man who had almost certainly realized the oddsmakers had massively misjudged his team's chances of defeating the struggling champions, and filled his boots accordingly.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired team manager the head coach after his side's latest victory, their eighth win in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for others on the periphery. It might change opinions. It may confirm views that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the lads have provided us. In terms of skill, we look in a strong position, and certainly in fitness we look in a good place, so long may that continue. Naturally, it's not a position that this club is accustomed to being in." Correct, Derek, it isn't. But the wonderful, analytics-backed reality is that for the initial occasion in many years, the Scottish game might actually have a championship battle that somebody other than Celtic or Rangers can claim.