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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the only surprising element of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was just how taken aback observers seemed when news of the result and its impact for the top of the table circulated. Although this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which puts the Edinburgh side top of the league and a significant margin ahead of their rivals, was seismic in scale, nobody who has been tracking the fortunes of either team this campaign will have been in the least shocked by the result.

For each of 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 season it has become apparent that Hearts – who count Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – could be ready to make their move while the Glasgow duo influence is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

While a lot of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being endured by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at their stadium has meant that Celtic's comparatively less severe decay has been allowed to worsen unnoticed. The reigning champions have already dropped a considerable number from their opening nine league games this season under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has developed the thousand-yard stare of a individual who can't stop checking his schedule to see how many days are remaining until his deal expires, and awoke this morning to learn the number is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure here," he informed reporters following the loss, after they had questioned his desire for any kind of a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is there to try and flip the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the dreadful beginning to the campaign being experienced by Rangers, Rodgers and his men could typically be anticipated to get away with their own inability to roar out of the traps, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the mix. In spite of being forced to operate with a budget that is not just a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have introduced the investment and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership equation. In addition to putting in ten million pounds during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has granted Hearts exclusive use of his top secret data-driven proprietary scouting player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to unearth 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 modest car. Seen at their home venue on Sunday wearing a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be seen celebrating each score with the enthusiasm of a person who had likely noticed the bookies had massively underestimated his side's prospects of defeating the struggling champions, and filled his boots accordingly.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said the facial-haired team manager the head coach after his team's most recent success, their eighth win in nine outings. "It might be for those on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It might validate opinions that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the players have given us. Technically, we look in a good place, and certainly physically we look in a good place, so long may that continue. Naturally, this is not a situation that the team is used to being in." Correct, Derek, it isn't. But the glorious, data-driven reality is that for the initial occasion in ages, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that a team besides Celtic or Rangers can win.