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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the only unexpected element of Heart of Midlothian's victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which taken aback people appeared when news of the result and its consequences for the summit of the table circulated. Although this 3-1 win at their home ground, which leaves the Edinburgh side leading of the table and eight points clear of their rivals, was seismic in scale, nobody who has been tracking the fortunes of both squad this campaign will have been even remotely shocked by the result.

For each of the past four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish league between them, turning fitba to something of a joke in the meantime. Several matches into the current campaign it has become apparent that Hearts – who count Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – might just be prepared to strike while the Glasgow duo influence is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

While much of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at their stadium 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 nine league games this term under their manager. The Celtic manager has developed the distant look of a man who constantly consulting his Google calendar to see how many time are left until his contract expires, and awoke this day to learn the answer is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure at the club," he informed the media following the loss, after they had questioned his desire for any kind of a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is present to try and flip the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the horrific beginning to the campaign being endured by Rangers, Rodgers and his players could normally be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own failure to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the mix. Despite being obliged to function with a war-chest that is not just a small portion of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have added the investment and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership mix. In addition to putting in ten million pounds during the summer, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts exclusive use of his highly confidential data-driven Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to discover unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at their home venue on Sunday wearing a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be observed cheering each goal with the enthusiasm of a man who had almost certainly noticed the bookies had massively misjudged his side's chances of defeating the out-of-sorts champions, and filled his boots accordingly.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a statement win," said bearded team manager Derek McInnes after his team's most recent victory, their eighth in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for those on the periphery. It might change opinions. It might validate 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 in fitness we look in a good place, so long may that continue. Of course, this is not a situation that the team is used to being in." No, Derek, it isn't. But the glorious, data-driven reality is that for the first time in ages, the Scottish game might genuinely have a title race that a team besides Celtic or Rangers can win.