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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the only surprising element of Heart of Midlothian's victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was just how taken aback observers seemed when reports of the outcome and its impact for the summit of the standings emerged. Although this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which puts the Jambos leading of the league and eight points ahead of their rivals, was seismic in scale, no one who has been following the progress of both team this campaign will have been even remotely astonished by the result.

Over the past 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish league between them, reducing fitba to almost a joke in the meantime. Several matches into the current season it has become apparent that Hearts – who count Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – could be ready to strike while the Glasgow duo iron is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

Although a lot of the attention in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being endured by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at Ibrox has resulted in that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been able to fester below the radar. The reigning champions have already lost a considerable number from their opening nine fixtures this season under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has acquired the distant look of a man who constantly checking his Google calendar to see how many days are left until his contract expires, and woke up this day to discover the answer is 246.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure at the club," he informed the media following the defeat, after they had doubted his appetite for anything resembling a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is present to attempt to reverse the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the horrific start to the campaign being endured by Rangers, Rodgers and his men could typically be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own failure to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has joined the fray. In spite of being forced to function with a war-chest that is not just a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have added the money and expertise of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership mix. In addition to putting in £10m during the off-season, the Brighton owner has granted the club sole use of his top secret data-driven proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to discover unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at Tynecastle on matchday wearing a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be seen celebrating each goal with the gusto of a man who had almost certainly noticed the bookies had greatly misjudged his team's chances of defeating the struggling champions, and placed large bets accordingly.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said bearded team manager Derek McInnes after his team's most recent success, their eighth win in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for others on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It might validate opinions that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the lads have given us. Technically, we appear in a strong position, and certainly in fitness we look in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Of course, this is not a situation that the team is used to being in." Correct, the manager, it is not. But the wonderful, data-driven truth is that for the initial occasion in many years, the Scottish game might genuinely have a championship battle that a team other than Celtic or Rangers can claim.