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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the sole surprising element of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which taken aback observers appeared when reports of the result and its consequences for the top of the standings emerged. While this 3-1 win at their home ground, which leaves the Jambos leading of the league and eight points ahead of Celtic, was earth-shattering in scale, no one who has been tracking the progress of either squad this season will have been in the least shocked by the result.

For each of the last 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish league between them, turning fitba to almost a punchline in the process. Several matches into the present campaign it has become clear that Hearts – who count celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – might just be prepared to make their move while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

While a lot of the focus in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being suffered by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at Ibrox has meant that the title holders' slightly less terminal decay has been allowed to worsen unnoticed. The reigning champions have so far lost 10 points from their opening nine league games this term under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a individual who can't stop consulting his Google calendar to find out how many time are left until his contract expires, and woke up this morning to learn the answer is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time here," he informed the media following the defeat, after they had questioned his appetite for any kind of a title fight. "So the motivation is there to try and reverse the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the horrific beginning to the campaign being endured by Rangers, Rodgers and his men could normally be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own inability to start strongly, but this year an capital city challenger has joined the mix. Despite being forced to operate with a war-chest that isn't so much a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have added the money and expertise of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership equation. As well as putting in ten million pounds during the off-season, the Brighton owner has granted the club sole use of his top secret data-driven Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to discover unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a modest car. Seen at their home venue on Sunday wearing a club colours, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be seen cheering each goal with the gusto of a person who had likely noticed the oddsmakers had massively misjudged his team's prospects of beating the struggling title holders, and filled his boots as a result.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said bearded team manager Derek McInnes after his team's most recent success, their eighth win in nine league matches. "It might be for those on the periphery. It could alter opinions. It may confirm views that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have given us. In terms of skill, we look in a strong position, and definitely in fitness we look in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Naturally, this is not a situation that the team is used to being in." Correct, the manager, it is not. But the glorious, data-driven truth is that for the first time in ages, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that a team other than Celtic or Rangers can claim.