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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the only unexpected aspect of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how surprised observers appeared when reports of the outcome and its impact for the summit of the standings circulated. While this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which leaves the Jambos leading of the table and eight points ahead of their rivals, was seismic in nature, nobody who has been tracking the fortunes of either team this campaign will have been even remotely shocked by the final score.

Over the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish league between them, reducing fitba to something of a joke in the process. Several matches into the current season it has become clear that Hearts – who number Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their famous supporters – might just be prepared to strike while the Old Firm influence is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

While much of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being suffered by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at Ibrox has resulted in that Celtic's comparatively less severe decay has been able to worsen unnoticed. The reigning champions have already lost a considerable number from nine league games this season under their manager. The team's boss has developed the distant look of a man who can't stop consulting his Google calendar to see how many time are remaining until his contract expires, and woke up this day to learn the number is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in all my time at the club," he told reporters following the defeat, after they had questioned his desire for anything resembling a championship battle. "So the motivation is present to attempt to flip the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the dreadful start to the campaign being endured by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his players could normally be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own inability to roar out of the traps, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the fray. In spite of being forced to operate with a budget that isn't so much a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the investment and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the SPL mix. In addition to putting in ten million pounds during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has granted the club exclusive use of his top secret data-driven Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to unearth hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a modest car. Seen at their home venue on Sunday wearing a club colours, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be observed cheering each score with the gusto of a person who had likely realized the oddsmakers had greatly misjudged his side's chances of beating the struggling champions, and filled his boots accordingly.

COACH'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said the facial-haired team manager Derek McInnes after his team's latest victory, their eighth win in nine league matches. "It might be for those on the outside looking in. It might change perceptions. It might validate opinions that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the players have provided us. Technically, we appear in a strong position, and certainly physically we look in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Of course, this is not a situation that this club is accustomed to being in." Correct, Derek, it is not. But the wonderful, analytics-backed truth is that for the initial occasion in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a championship battle that a team besides Celtic or Rangers can claim.