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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole surprising aspect of Hearts' victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how taken aback people seemed when reports of the result and its impact for the top of the table emerged. Although this convincing victory at their home ground, which leaves the Jambos top of the league and a significant margin ahead of Celtic, was seismic in nature, nobody who has been following the progress of either team this season will have been in the least shocked by the final score.

Over the last 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish league between them, reducing fitba to something of a punchline in the process. Several matches into the present campaign it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – could be prepared to strike while the Old Firm iron is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

While much of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at their stadium has resulted in that Celtic's slightly less terminal decay has been able to worsen unnoticed. The reigning champions have already lost 10 points from nine fixtures this term under their manager. The team's boss has developed the distant look of a man who can't stop consulting his Google calendar to see how many time are remaining until his deal ends, and woke up this day to discover the answer is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in all my time at the club," he informed reporters following the defeat, after they had doubted his appetite for anything resembling a title fight. "Therefore the drive is there to attempt to reverse the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the horrific beginning to the season being endured by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his men could normally be expected to get away with their own inability to roar out of the traps, but this year an capital city challenger has joined the mix. Despite being forced to operate with a budget that is not just a small portion of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have introduced the investment and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the SPL equation. In addition to putting in £10m during the off-season, the Brighton owner has provided the club exclusive use of his highly confidential analytics-based Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to discover hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at Tynecastle on Sunday wearing a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be observed cheering each goal with the gusto of a person who had almost certainly noticed the oddsmakers had greatly misjudged his team's chances of defeating the out-of-sorts title holders, and filled his boots accordingly.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said bearded Hearts gaffer the head coach after his team's latest success, their eighth win in nine league matches. "It might be for others on the outside looking in. It could alter perceptions. It might validate opinions that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have provided us. Technically, we appear in a strong position, and definitely physically we look in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Naturally, it's not a position that this club is accustomed to being in." Correct, the manager, it isn't. But the wonderful, data-driven reality is that for the first time in many years, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that a team other than Celtic or Rangers can win.