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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the only surprising aspect of Heart of Midlothian's victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which surprised observers appeared when reports of the outcome and its impact for the summit of the standings circulated. Although this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Jambos leading of the table and a significant margin ahead of Celtic, was seismic in scale, nobody who has been following the fortunes of either squad this season will have been in the least shocked by the result.

Over the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs 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 season it has become clear that Hearts – who count Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – could be prepared to make their move while the Glasgow duo iron is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

Although much of the focus 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 comparatively less severe decline has been able to worsen below the radar. The defending title winners have so far lost 10 points from nine league games this season under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has developed the distant look of a man who can't stop consulting his Google calendar to see how many time are remaining until his deal expires, and awoke this day to learn the number is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure here," he told the media following the loss, after they had questioned his appetite for any kind of a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is present to attempt to reverse the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the horrific start to the season being experienced by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his players could normally be expected to escape scrutiny for their own failure to start strongly, but this year an capital city challenger has joined the fray. Despite being obliged to operate with a war-chest that isn't so much a small portion of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the money and expertise of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership mix. As well as investing ten million pounds during the summer, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts exclusive use of his top secret data-driven Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to unearth unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday wearing a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be observed cheering each goal with the gusto of a man who had almost certainly noticed the bookies had massively underestimated his team's chances of beating the struggling champions, and filled his boots accordingly.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired team manager Derek McInnes after his side's most recent victory, their eighth win in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for others on the outside looking in. It might change opinions. It might validate opinions that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have provided us. Technically, we appear in a good place, and definitely in fitness we seem in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Of course, it's not a position that this club is accustomed to being in." No, the manager, it is not. But the glorious, analytics-backed reality is that for the first time in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that a team other than the traditional powers can claim.