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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole surprising aspect of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which surprised people seemed when reports of the result and its consequences for the top of the table circulated. Although this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which leaves the Jambos leading of the table and a significant margin ahead of Celtic, was earth-shattering in nature, no one who has been tracking the fortunes of either squad this season will have been in the least astonished by the result.

For each of the last 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish football between them, reducing fitba to almost a punchline in the meantime. Several matches into the present season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who number celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their famous supporters – might just be prepared to make their move while the Old Firm iron is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

Although much of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being endured by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at Ibrox has meant that the title holders' slightly less terminal decline has been allowed to fester unnoticed. The reigning champions have so far dropped 10 points from nine fixtures this season under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has developed the distant look of a individual who can't stop consulting his Google calendar to find out how many days are left until his deal ends, and woke up this morning to learn the number is over two hundred.

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

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the dreadful start to the season being experienced by Rangers, Rodgers and his players could typically be expected to escape scrutiny for their own failure to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the mix. 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, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the investment and expertise of a renowned businessman to the SPL mix. As well as 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 an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to unearth hidden talents 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. Spotted at their home venue on Sunday wearing a club colours, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be seen celebrating each goal with the gusto of a person who had almost certainly realized the bookies had greatly underestimated his team's chances of defeating the out-of-sorts title holders, and placed large bets accordingly.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired team manager Derek McInnes after his side's latest success, their eighth in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for those on the outside looking in. It might change opinions. It might validate opinions that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have provided us. In terms of skill, we look in a strong position, and certainly in fitness we look in a good place, so we hope it persists. Of course, this is not a situation that this club is used to being in." No, Derek, it isn't. But the wonderful, data-driven reality is that for the initial occasion in ages, Scottish football might genuinely have a championship battle that somebody other than the traditional powers can win.