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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole unexpected element of Heart of Midlothian's victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was just how taken aback people seemed when reports of the outcome and its consequences for the top of the standings emerged. While this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which leaves the Jambos leading of the table and a significant margin ahead of their rivals, was seismic in scale, nobody who has been following the progress of either team this campaign will have been in the least astonished by the result.

Over the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish football 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 renowned actor among their celebrity fans – might just be ready to make their move while the Old Firm influence is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

Although much of the focus in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at their stadium has resulted in that the title holders' slightly less terminal decline has been able to fester below the radar. The reigning champions have already lost a considerable number from their opening nine fixtures this term under their manager. The Celtic manager has acquired the distant look of a man who constantly consulting his Google calendar to find out how many time are left until his deal expires, and woke up this day to learn the number is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time here," he told the media following the defeat, after they had doubted his desire for any kind of a title fight. "So the motivation is present to attempt to reverse the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the horrific beginning to the season being endured by Rangers, Rodgers and his players could normally be expected to escape scrutiny for their own failure to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the mix. In spite of being obliged to function with a budget that isn't so much a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the money 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 the club sole use of his top secret data-driven Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to discover hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at their home venue on Sunday wearing a club colours, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be observed cheering each goal with the gusto of a person who had almost certainly realized the bookies had greatly underestimated his team's prospects of beating the out-of-sorts champions, and filled his boots accordingly.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a statement win," said bearded 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 perceptions. It may confirm views that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the players have given us. Technically, we look in a good place, 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 isn't. But the glorious, data-driven truth is that for the initial occasion in ages, Scottish football might actually have a title race that a team other than Celtic or Rangers can claim.