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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the only unexpected aspect of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which surprised people appeared when reports of the outcome and its consequences for the top of the standings emerged. Although this convincing victory at their home ground, which leaves the Edinburgh side top of the league and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was seismic in nature, no one who has been following the progress of either squad this season will have been even remotely astonished by the final score.

Over the past four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to something of a joke in the process. Several matches into the current season it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – could be prepared 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 endured by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at their stadium has resulted in that Celtic's comparatively less severe decay has been allowed to worsen below the radar. The reigning champions have so far dropped a considerable number from their opening nine fixtures this term under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has developed the thousand-yard stare of a individual who can't stop checking his schedule to see how many time are remaining until his contract expires, and woke up this morning to learn the number is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure here," he informed reporters following the loss, after they had questioned his appetite for anything resembling a title fight. "Therefore the drive is present to try and flip the standards 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 Rangers, Rodgers and his players could normally be expected to get away with their own failure to start strongly, but this year an capital city challenger has entered the mix. Despite being obliged to operate with a budget that is not just a small portion of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have added the money and expertise of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership mix. As well as investing £10m during the off-season, the Brighton owner has provided the club exclusive use of his highly confidential analytics-based Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to discover unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a modest car. Seen at their home venue on matchday wearing a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be seen celebrating each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had likely realized the oddsmakers had massively misjudged his side's prospects of beating the out-of-sorts title holders, and filled his boots as a result.

COACH'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a statement win," said the facial-haired team manager Derek McInnes after his team's most recent success, their eighth in nine outings. "It might be for others on the periphery. It could alter opinions. It may confirm opinions that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the players have provided us. In terms of skill, we appear in a strong position, and definitely in fitness we seem in a good place, so we hope it persists. Of course, it's not a position that this club is used to being in." No, Derek, it is not. But the glorious, analytics-backed reality is that for the first time in ages, the Scottish game might genuinely have a title race that a team besides Celtic or Rangers can claim.