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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the only surprising aspect of Heart of Midlothian's victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which taken aback people appeared when news of the result and its consequences for the top of the standings emerged. Although this convincing victory at their home ground, which leaves the Jambos top of the table and eight points ahead of Celtic, was earth-shattering in nature, nobody who has been following the progress of either squad this season will have been even remotely shocked by the result.

For each of the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish league between them, turning the beautiful game to almost a punchline in the meantime. Several matches into the current campaign it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who number Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – could be prepared to make their move while the Old Firm influence is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

Although a lot of the focus in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at Ibrox has resulted in that the title holders' comparatively less severe decline has been allowed to fester unnoticed. The defending title winners have so far dropped 10 points from nine fixtures this term under their manager. The Celtic manager has developed the thousand-yard stare of a man who constantly consulting his Google calendar to see how many time are left until his deal expires, and awoke this morning to discover the answer is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure at the club," he told the media following the defeat, after they had questioned his desire for any kind of a title fight. "Therefore the drive is present to attempt to flip the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the dreadful start to the campaign being endured by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his men could typically be expected 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 budget 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 a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership equation. As well as investing £10m during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has provided the club sole use of his top secret data-driven proprietary scouting player identification system.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to discover unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a modest car. Seen at their home venue on matchday sporting a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be observed cheering each score with the enthusiasm of a person who had likely noticed the oddsmakers had massively underestimated his team's chances of beating the struggling champions, and filled his boots as a result.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his team's most recent success, their eighth in nine league matches. "It might be for those on the periphery. 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 good place, and definitely physically we look in a good place, so long may that continue. Of course, this is not a situation that the team is used to being in." No, Derek, it isn't. But the glorious, data-driven reality is that for the first time in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that a team besides the traditional powers can claim.