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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 just how taken aback observers appeared when news of the result and its impact for the top of the standings emerged. Although this convincing victory at their home ground, which leaves the Jambos leading of the league and a significant margin ahead of Celtic, was earth-shattering in scale, no one who has been tracking the fortunes of either team this campaign will have been even remotely astonished by the final score.

For each of the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish football between them, turning fitba to almost a joke in the process. Several matches into the current campaign it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who number celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – might just be ready to strike while the Old Firm influence is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

While a lot of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the situation at Ibrox has meant that Celtic's comparatively less severe decay has been allowed to fester unnoticed. The reigning champions have so far dropped a considerable number from nine league games this season under their manager. The Celtic manager has developed the thousand-yard stare of a man who can't stop consulting his schedule to find out how many days are left until his contract ends, and awoke this morning to discover the number is over two hundred.

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

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the dreadful start to the campaign being endured by Rangers, Rodgers and his men could typically be anticipated to get away with their own failure to start strongly, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the fray. In spite of being obliged to function with a war-chest that isn't so much a small portion of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the investment and expertise of Tony Bloom to the SPL mix. In addition to investing £10m during the summer, the Brighton owner has provided the club sole use of his highly confidential analytics-based proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to discover hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at their home venue on matchday sporting a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be observed celebrating each goal with the gusto of a person who had almost certainly realized the bookies had greatly misjudged his team's chances of beating the out-of-sorts title holders, and filled his boots as a result.

COACH'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said bearded team manager Derek McInnes after his team's most recent victory, their eighth in nine league matches. "It might be for those on the outside looking in. It might change perceptions. It might validate views that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the players have given us. Technically, we appear in a good place, and definitely physically we look in a good place, so long may that continue. Naturally, this is not a situation that the team is accustomed to being in." Correct, the manager, it isn't. But the glorious, data-driven reality is that for the first time in ages, Scottish football might actually have a championship battle that a team besides Celtic or Rangers can claim.