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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the sole surprising element of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight 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 convincing victory at their home ground, which puts the Jambos leading of the league and a significant margin ahead of Celtic, was earth-shattering in nature, no one who has been following the fortunes of either team this campaign will have been in the least astonished by the final score.

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 process. Several matches into the current campaign it has become clear that Hearts – who count celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – might just be ready to make their move while the Old Firm influence is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

While a lot of the attention in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being endured by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the situation at Ibrox has meant that the title holders' slightly less terminal decline has been allowed to worsen below the radar. The reigning champions have already dropped a considerable number from their opening nine league games this term under their manager. The team's boss has acquired the distant look of a individual who can't stop consulting his Google calendar to find out how many time are left until his deal expires, and woke up this day to discover the number is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure here," he informed the media following the defeat, after they had questioned his appetite for anything resembling a title fight. "Therefore the drive is present to try and reverse the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the horrific beginning to the campaign being experienced by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his men could normally be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own failure to start strongly, but this year an capital city challenger has joined the mix. Despite being forced to function with a war-chest that isn't so much a small portion of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, 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 provided the club sole use of his top secret analytics-based 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 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 matchday sporting a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be seen celebrating each goal with the gusto of a man who had almost certainly realized the oddsmakers had massively underestimated his team's prospects of defeating the struggling champions, and filled his boots accordingly.

COACH'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said bearded Hearts gaffer the head coach after his team's latest victory, their eighth in nine league matches. "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 let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the players have given us. Technically, we look in a strong position, and definitely physically we seem in a good place, so long may that continue. Naturally, it's not a position that the team is accustomed to being in." Correct, Derek, it is not. But the glorious, data-driven reality is that for the first time in many years, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that somebody other than Celtic or Rangers can claim.