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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the only unexpected aspect of Heart of Midlothian's victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which surprised people seemed when news of the outcome and its impact for the summit of the standings circulated. Although this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which leaves the Jambos leading of the league and a significant margin ahead of their rivals, was earth-shattering in scale, nobody who has been tracking the fortunes of both squad this campaign will have been in the least astonished by the result.

Over the last 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish football between them, turning fitba to something of a joke in the meantime. Several matches into the present campaign it has become clear that Hearts – who count Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their famous supporters – might just be prepared to strike while the Old Firm iron is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

Although much of the focus in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at their stadium has resulted in that the title holders' slightly less terminal decay has been able to fester below the radar. The reigning champions have already dropped 10 points from their opening nine fixtures this season under their manager. The Celtic manager has developed the distant look of a individual who can't stop consulting his Google calendar to see how many time are left until his contract expires, and awoke this morning to learn the number is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure here," he informed the media following the loss, after they had doubted his desire for anything resembling a title fight. "Therefore the drive is there to attempt to flip the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the horrific beginning to the season being endured by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his players could typically be expected to escape scrutiny for their own inability to roar out of the traps, but this year an capital city challenger has entered the fray. In spite of being obliged to function with a war-chest that isn't so much a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the investment and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the SPL equation. As well as putting in ten million pounds during the summer, the Brighton owner has provided the club sole use of his highly confidential analytics-based proprietary scouting player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to unearth hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division 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 club colours, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be seen celebrating each goal with the gusto of a person who had almost certainly realized the bookies had greatly underestimated his team's prospects of beating the struggling champions, and filled his boots as a result.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said bearded Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his team's most recent success, their eighth in nine outings. "It might be for others on the outside looking in. It might change perceptions. It may confirm opinions that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the players have given us. Technically, we appear in a good place, and certainly in fitness we seem in a good place, so we hope it persists. Naturally, it's not a position that this club is used to being in." Correct, the manager, it is not. But the wonderful, analytics-backed reality is that for the initial occasion in many years, Scottish football might genuinely have a championship battle that somebody besides the traditional powers can win.