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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole unexpected aspect of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which taken aback people seemed when reports of the outcome and its impact for the summit of the table circulated. Although this 3-1 win at their home ground, which leaves the Edinburgh side top of the table and a significant margin clear of their rivals, was earth-shattering in scale, nobody who has been tracking the progress of either team this campaign will have been even remotely shocked by the result.

For each of the past four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to something of a punchline in the process. Several matches into the present season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – might just be prepared to strike while the Old Firm iron is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

Although much 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 meant that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been allowed to worsen below the radar. The defending title winners have so far lost 10 points from their opening nine fixtures this season under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has developed the distant look of a man who constantly checking his schedule to see how many time are left until his contract ends, and woke up this morning to learn the answer is 246.

"I've never worked harder in all my time at the club," he told the media following the defeat, after they had questioned his desire for any kind of a title fight. "So the motivation is present to try and flip the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the horrific beginning to the campaign being endured by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his players could normally be expected to get away with their own inability to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has joined the mix. Despite being obliged to function with a budget that is not just a small portion of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have added the money and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the SPL equation. In addition to investing £10m during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has granted Hearts sole use of his highly confidential analytics-based Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to unearth hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at their home venue on Sunday wearing a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be seen cheering each score with the gusto of a man who had almost certainly noticed the bookies had greatly underestimated his team's prospects of defeating the struggling title holders, and filled his boots as a result.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a statement win," said bearded team manager the head coach after his side's latest success, their eighth win in nine league matches. "It might be for those on the periphery. It might change opinions. It might validate views that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have given us. Technically, we appear in a good place, and definitely in fitness we look in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Of course, it's not a position that the team is accustomed to being in." No, Derek, it isn't. But the glorious, data-driven truth is that for the initial occasion in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that somebody other than the traditional powers can claim.