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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole unexpected element of Heart of Midlothian's victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which taken aback people appeared when reports of the outcome and its consequences for the summit of the standings emerged. Although this 3-1 win at their home ground, which leaves the Jambos top of the league and eight points clear of Celtic, was seismic in scale, no one who has been tracking the progress of both squad this campaign will have been even remotely shocked by the final score.

Over the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish league between them, turning the beautiful game to something of a joke in the process. Several matches into the current campaign it has become clear that Hearts – who number Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – might just be ready to strike while the Old Firm iron is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

While much of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being suffered by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at their stadium has meant that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been allowed to worsen unnoticed. The reigning champions have so far dropped 10 points from their opening nine fixtures this term under their manager. The team's boss has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a man who constantly checking his Google calendar to find out how many days are remaining until his deal ends, and woke up this day to discover the answer is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure here," he told the media following the loss, after they had doubted his appetite for any kind of a title fight. "Therefore the drive is present to attempt to reverse the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the horrific start to the campaign being experienced by Rangers, Rodgers and his men could normally be anticipated to get away with their own inability to start strongly, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has entered the mix. In spite of being obliged to operate with a war-chest that is not just a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the investment and expertise of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership mix. In addition to putting in £10m during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has provided Hearts exclusive use of his top secret analytics-based Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to discover 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 total price of a modest car. Seen at their home venue on matchday wearing a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be seen celebrating each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had almost certainly noticed the bookies had massively misjudged his side's chances of beating the struggling champions, and filled his boots as a result.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his team's latest success, their eighth win in nine outings. "It might be for those on the periphery. It could alter opinions. It may confirm views that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the lads have given us. In terms of skill, we appear in a strong position, and definitely physically we look in a good place, so long may that continue. Of course, this is not a situation that this club is accustomed to being in." Correct, Derek, it isn't. But the glorious, data-driven truth is that for the first time in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that somebody besides Celtic or Rangers can win.