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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole unexpected element of Hearts' victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was just how surprised people appeared when reports of the outcome and its impact for the summit of the standings emerged. Although this 3-1 win at their home ground, which leaves the Jambos leading of the league and a significant margin clear of their rivals, was seismic in scale, no one who has been following the fortunes of both squad this season will have been in the least astonished by the result.

Over the past 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish football between them, turning fitba to something of a joke in the meantime. Several matches into the current season it has become clear that Hearts – who count Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – could be prepared to make their move while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

Although much of the focus 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 meant that the title holders' comparatively less severe decline has been allowed to fester unnoticed. The reigning champions have so far dropped 10 points from nine league games this term under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has developed the thousand-yard stare of a individual who can't stop consulting his Google calendar to find out how many time are left until his contract expires, and awoke this morning to discover the answer is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure at the club," he told the media following the loss, after they had doubted his desire for any kind of a title fight. "So the motivation is there to attempt to reverse the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the dreadful beginning to the campaign being endured by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his men could normally be expected to get away with their own failure to start strongly, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the fray. Despite being forced to operate with a war-chest that is not just a small portion of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have added the investment and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the SPL equation. In addition to investing £10m during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has granted the club sole use of his top secret data-driven proprietary scouting player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to unearth hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at Tynecastle on matchday sporting a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be seen celebrating each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had almost certainly noticed the bookies had massively underestimated his side's chances of beating the struggling title holders, and filled his boots accordingly.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired team manager Derek McInnes after his team's most recent success, their eighth in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for those on the outside looking in. It might change perceptions. It might validate opinions that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the players have provided us. Technically, we look in a strong position, and definitely in fitness 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 isn't. But the wonderful, data-driven reality is that for the initial occasion in many years, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that somebody besides Celtic or Rangers can claim.