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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole unexpected element of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which surprised people appeared when news of the outcome and its consequences for the summit of the table emerged. While this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which puts the Edinburgh side 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 season will have been even remotely shocked by the final score.

For each of the last 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish football between them, reducing the beautiful game to something of a punchline in the process. Several matches into the current campaign it has become apparent that Hearts – who number Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – could be prepared to make their move while the Old Firm influence is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

Although much of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being suffered by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at Ibrox has meant that the title holders' slightly less terminal decay has been allowed to fester below the radar. The reigning champions have already lost a considerable number from nine league games this term under their manager. The team's boss has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a man who constantly consulting his schedule to find out how many time are remaining until his contract expires, and woke up this day to discover the answer is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure at the club," he told reporters following the defeat, after they had doubted his appetite for anything resembling a title fight. "So the motivation is present to attempt to flip the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the dreadful start to the season being experienced by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his players could normally be expected to get away with their own failure to start strongly, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has joined the fray. In spite of being forced to function with a war-chest that is not just a small portion of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have added the money and expertise of Tony Bloom to the SPL mix. As well as investing ten million pounds during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has granted the club sole use of his top secret data-driven Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to unearth unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a modest car. Seen at their home venue on matchday wearing a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be observed celebrating each score with the gusto of a man who had almost certainly noticed the oddsmakers had greatly misjudged his side's chances of defeating the out-of-sorts title holders, and placed large bets as a result.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a statement win," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer the head coach after his side's most recent success, their eighth in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for those on the periphery. It could alter perceptions. It might validate opinions that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the lads have given us. Technically, we appear in a strong position, and definitely in fitness we seem in a good place, so long may that continue. Of course, it's not a position that the team is accustomed to being in." No, the manager, it isn't. But the wonderful, data-driven truth is that for the first time in ages, Scottish football might genuinely have a championship battle that a team other than the traditional powers can win.