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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the sole unexpected aspect of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how taken aback people seemed when news of the outcome and its consequences for the summit of the standings circulated. Although this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which puts the Edinburgh side leading of the table and a significant margin clear of their rivals, was earth-shattering in nature, nobody who has been tracking the fortunes of either squad this campaign will have been even remotely astonished by the final score.

Over the last four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish football between them, reducing the beautiful game to almost a punchline in the process. Several matches into the current campaign it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who number celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy 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 focus in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at their stadium has resulted in that the title holders' comparatively less severe decline has been allowed to worsen unnoticed. The reigning champions have so far dropped a considerable number from their opening nine fixtures this season under their manager. The team's boss has developed the distant look of a individual who can't stop checking his schedule to see how many days are remaining until his deal expires, and woke up this morning to discover the answer is 246.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure at the club," he told reporters following the defeat, after they had doubted his desire for anything resembling a title fight. "Therefore the drive is present to attempt to flip the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the horrific start to the season being experienced by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his players could normally be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own failure to start strongly, but this year an capital city challenger has joined the fray. Despite being forced to operate with a budget that isn't so much a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have introduced the investment and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the SPL equation. As well as investing ten million pounds during the off-season, the Brighton owner has granted the club exclusive use of his top secret data-driven Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to discover hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a modest car. Spotted at Tynecastle on Sunday wearing a club colours, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be observed celebrating each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had likely realized the oddsmakers had greatly misjudged his side's chances of beating the out-of-sorts title holders, 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 latest victory, their eighth win in nine league matches. "It might be for those on the periphery. It could alter opinions. It might validate opinions that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the lads have provided us. Technically, we appear in a good place, and definitely physically we seem in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Of course, it's not a position that the team is accustomed to being in." No, the manager, it is not. But the wonderful, data-driven truth is that for the first time in ages, Scottish football might actually have a title race that somebody besides the traditional powers can win.