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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole unexpected element of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which taken aback observers appeared when reports of the outcome and its consequences for the top of the standings circulated. While this convincing victory at their home ground, which puts the Jambos leading of the league and eight points clear of Celtic, was seismic in nature, no one who has been tracking the progress of both team this season will have been in the least shocked by the result.

For each of the past four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish league between them, reducing the beautiful game to almost a punchline in the process. Several matches into the present season it has become apparent that Hearts – who number Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – might just be ready to make their move while the Old Firm iron is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

Although much of the attention in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being suffered by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at Ibrox has resulted in that the title holders' slightly less terminal decay has been able to worsen unnoticed. The defending title winners have already lost 10 points from their opening nine fixtures this season under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a individual who constantly consulting his Google calendar to find out how many days are remaining until his contract expires, and woke up this morning to learn the number is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure here," he told the media following the defeat, after they had questioned his desire for any kind of a championship battle. "So the motivation is there to try and reverse the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the dreadful beginning to the campaign being endured by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his players could normally be expected to escape scrutiny for their own inability to start strongly, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the mix. In spite of being obliged to function with a war-chest that is not just a small portion of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have added the investment and expertise of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership equation. As well as investing £10m during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has provided the club sole use of his highly confidential data-driven proprietary scouting player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to unearth hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a modest car. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday wearing a club colours, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be seen cheering each score with the gusto of a man who had likely realized the oddsmakers had massively underestimated his side's chances of beating the struggling title holders, and placed large bets as a result.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer the head coach after his team's most recent success, their eighth in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is 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. In terms of skill, we look in a good place, and definitely physically we seem in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Naturally, it's not a position that this club is used to being in." No, the manager, it is not. But the wonderful, data-driven truth is that for the initial occasion in many years, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that somebody other than the traditional powers can claim.