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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the only surprising aspect of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which surprised observers 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 Edinburgh side leading of the table and a significant margin ahead of their rivals, was seismic in nature, no one who has been tracking the fortunes of both squad this campaign will have been even remotely shocked by the result.

Over the last 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish league between them, turning fitba to almost a joke in the meantime. Several matches into the present season it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who number celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – could be prepared to make their move while the Old Firm iron is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

Although a lot of the attention in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the situation at Ibrox has meant that the title holders' slightly less terminal decay has been able to worsen unnoticed. The defending title winners have already dropped 10 points from their opening nine league games this term under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a individual who constantly checking his schedule to see how many time are left until his contract expires, and woke up this morning to learn the answer is 246.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure here," he told reporters following the loss, after they had questioned his appetite for any kind of a title fight. "So the motivation is there to try and reverse the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the dreadful start to the season being endured by Rangers, Rodgers and his men could typically be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own failure to roar out of the traps, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the fray. In spite of being forced to operate with a war-chest that isn't so much a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have added the money and expertise of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership mix. As well as investing £10m during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has granted Hearts exclusive use of his top secret analytics-based Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to unearth unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at their home venue on matchday wearing a club colours, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be seen celebrating each goal with the enthusiasm of a man who had likely realized the bookies had greatly misjudged his team's chances of beating the struggling title holders, and filled his boots as a result.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said the facial-haired team manager the head coach after his team's most recent success, their eighth in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for others on the outside looking in. It might change perceptions. It may confirm views that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have given us. Technically, we look in a strong position, and certainly physically we seem in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Of course, it's not a position that this club is used to being in." No, Derek, it is not. But the glorious, data-driven reality is that for the initial occasion in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that a team other than Celtic or Rangers can win.