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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the sole surprising aspect of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how taken aback people appeared when news of the result and its impact for the summit of the table emerged. Although this convincing victory at their home ground, which puts the Edinburgh side leading of the table and a significant margin ahead of Celtic, was seismic in nature, nobody who has been following the fortunes of both team this season will have been in the least shocked by the result.

For each of the last 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish league between them, reducing the beautiful game to almost a joke in the meantime. Several matches into the present campaign it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – could be ready to make their move while the Glasgow duo influence is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

Although much of the attention in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being suffered by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at Ibrox has meant that Celtic's comparatively less severe decay has been able to fester below the radar. The defending title winners have so far lost 10 points from their opening nine league games this season under their manager. The team's boss has developed the thousand-yard stare of a individual who can't stop consulting his schedule to see how many time are left until his deal ends, and awoke this day to discover the number is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time at the club," he told reporters following the loss, after they had doubted his desire for any kind of a title fight. "Therefore the drive is there to attempt to reverse the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the dreadful beginning to the season being endured by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his men could normally be anticipated to get away with their own inability to start strongly, but this year an capital city challenger has joined the fray. Despite being obliged to operate with a war-chest that is not just a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have added the money and expertise of a renowned businessman to the SPL equation. In addition to putting in £10m during the off-season, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts sole use of his highly confidential analytics-based proprietary scouting player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to unearth hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at Tynecastle on Sunday sporting a club colours, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be seen cheering each goal with the gusto of a person who had likely realized the bookies had massively underestimated his side's chances of beating the struggling title holders, and filled his boots accordingly.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," 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 others on the outside looking in. It might change opinions. It may confirm views that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the players have given us. Technically, we look in a strong position, and certainly physically we look in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Naturally, it's not a position that this club is used to being in." No, the manager, it isn't. But the glorious, analytics-backed reality is that for the initial occasion in ages, Scottish football might actually have a title race that a team besides the traditional powers can win.