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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the only unexpected element of Heart of Midlothian's victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how surprised people seemed when news of the outcome and its consequences for the summit of the standings circulated. While this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which leaves the Edinburgh side top of the table and a significant margin ahead of Celtic, was earth-shattering in nature, no one who has been following the fortunes of either team this season will have been even remotely shocked by the final score.

Over the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish league between them, turning fitba to almost a joke in the process. Several matches into the current campaign it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – might just be prepared to strike while the Old Firm iron is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

Although a lot of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at Ibrox has meant that the title holders' slightly less terminal decay has been allowed to fester unnoticed. The defending title winners have already dropped 10 points from nine fixtures this term under their manager. The team's boss has developed the thousand-yard stare of a man who can't stop checking his Google calendar to see how many time are remaining until his contract ends, and woke up this day to discover the number is 246.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure at the club," he informed reporters following the loss, after they had questioned his desire for any kind of a championship battle. "So the motivation is there to try and reverse the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the dreadful start to the season being endured by Rangers, Rodgers and his players could typically be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own inability to start strongly, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the mix. Despite being forced to function with a war-chest that is not just a small portion of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have introduced the money and expertise of a renowned businessman to the SPL equation. As well as putting in ten million pounds during the off-season, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts exclusive use of his top secret analytics-based Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to discover hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, 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 sports betting expert could be observed cheering each goal with the enthusiasm of a man who had almost certainly realized the bookies had massively misjudged his team's prospects of defeating the out-of-sorts champions, and placed large bets accordingly.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a statement win," said bearded Hearts gaffer the head coach after his team's most recent victory, their eighth in nine league matches. "It might be for others on the periphery. It could alter perceptions. It might validate opinions that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the players have given us. Technically, we look in a good place, and definitely physically we look in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Of course, this is not a situation that this club is accustomed to being in." No, the manager, it is not. But the wonderful, analytics-backed truth is that for the initial occasion in many years, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that somebody besides Celtic or Rangers can win.