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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the only surprising aspect of Hearts' victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which surprised people appeared when reports of the outcome and its impact for the top of the standings circulated. Although this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which puts the Jambos leading of the table and a significant margin ahead of Celtic, was earth-shattering in nature, no one who has been following the fortunes of either squad this season will have been in the least shocked by the final score.

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 the beautiful game to something of a joke in the process. 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 strike while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

While much of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being endured by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the situation at Ibrox has resulted in that the title holders' comparatively less severe decay has been able to worsen unnoticed. The reigning champions have so far dropped 10 points from their opening nine fixtures this season under their manager. The team's boss has developed the thousand-yard stare of a man who constantly consulting his schedule to find out how many time are left until his deal expires, and awoke this day to learn the answer is 246.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure here," he told the media following the loss, after they had questioned his desire for anything resembling a title fight. "So the motivation is present to attempt to flip the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the dreadful start to the campaign being endured by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his players could typically be anticipated to get away with their own failure to start strongly, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the mix. Despite being obliged to function with a war-chest that isn't so much a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have added the investment and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the SPL mix. In addition to investing £10m during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has provided the club sole use of his top secret analytics-based proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to unearth hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a modest car. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday sporting a club colours, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be seen cheering each goal with the enthusiasm of a man who had almost certainly noticed the oddsmakers had massively underestimated his team's prospects of beating the struggling title holders, and placed large bets as a result.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer the head coach after his side's most recent success, their eighth in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for others on the outside looking in. It might change opinions. It may confirm opinions that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the players have given us. In terms of skill, we look in a strong position, and certainly physically we seem in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Naturally, this is not a situation that this club is used to being in." Correct, Derek, it isn't. But the wonderful, analytics-backed reality is that for the initial occasion in ages, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that somebody besides Celtic or Rangers can claim.