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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the only unexpected element of Heart of Midlothian's victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which surprised people appeared when news of the result and its impact for the summit of the table emerged. Although this convincing victory at their home ground, which leaves the Jambos top of the league and eight points clear of their rivals, was earth-shattering in scale, nobody who has been tracking the fortunes of either team this campaign will have been in the least astonished by the final score.

Over the last 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish football between them, reducing fitba to something of a punchline in the meantime. Several matches into the present season it has become clear that Hearts – who number celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – could be ready to make their move while the Glasgow duo influence is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

Although a lot of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being suffered by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the situation at Ibrox has meant that the title holders' slightly less terminal decay has been able to fester below the radar. The reigning champions have so far dropped 10 points from nine fixtures this term under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has developed the distant look of a individual who constantly checking his schedule to find out how many days are left until his deal expires, and woke up this day to learn the answer is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time at the club," he told reporters following the loss, after they had questioned his desire for anything resembling a championship battle. "So the motivation is present to attempt to reverse the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the horrific beginning to the campaign being endured by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his men could normally be expected to escape scrutiny for their own failure to roar out of the traps, but this year an capital city challenger has joined the mix. Despite being forced to function with a budget that is not just a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the money and expertise of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership equation. As well as investing ten million pounds during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has granted Hearts exclusive use of his highly confidential data-driven Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to unearth unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at their home venue on matchday sporting a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be seen cheering each goal with the gusto of a person who had almost certainly realized the bookies had massively underestimated his team's prospects of beating the struggling champions, and filled his boots as a result.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired team manager Derek McInnes after his side's latest victory, their eighth win in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for others on the outside looking in. 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. In terms of skill, we look in a strong position, and definitely physically we look in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Naturally, it's not a position that this club is used to being in." Correct, the manager, it isn't. But the wonderful, analytics-backed reality is that for the initial occasion in many years, Scottish football might actually have a title race that a team besides Celtic or Rangers can claim.