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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the sole unexpected element of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how surprised observers seemed when news of the result and its consequences for the summit of the standings circulated. Although this convincing victory at their home ground, which leaves the Jambos leading of the table and a significant margin ahead of Celtic, was earth-shattering in scale, nobody who has been following the progress of either team this season will have been in the least shocked by the result.

Over the past 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to almost a joke in the meantime. Several matches into the present campaign it has become apparent that Hearts – who count celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their famous supporters – might just be ready to strike while the Glasgow duo iron is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

Although a lot of the focus in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the situation at Ibrox has resulted in that the title holders' slightly less terminal decay has been allowed to fester unnoticed. The reigning champions have so far dropped 10 points from their opening nine fixtures this term under their manager. The team's boss has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a individual who can't stop checking his Google calendar to see how many time are remaining until his deal expires, and woke up this morning to discover the answer is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time here," he informed reporters following the defeat, after they had questioned his appetite for any kind of a championship battle. "So the motivation is present to attempt to reverse the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the dreadful start to the campaign being experienced by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers 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. Despite being forced to operate with a war-chest that isn't so much a small portion of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have added the money and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the SPL mix. As well as putting in ten million pounds during the summer, the Brighton owner has provided Hearts sole use of his highly confidential data-driven proprietary scouting player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to discover hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a modest car. Spotted at Tynecastle on matchday 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 oddsmakers had massively underestimated his side's prospects of beating the out-of-sorts champions, and placed large bets as a result.

COACH'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said bearded team manager the head coach after his team's latest victory, their eighth win in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for those on the periphery. It might change opinions. It might validate opinions that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have given us. In terms of skill, we appear in a good place, and certainly in fitness we seem in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Naturally, it's not a position that the team is accustomed to being in." No, the manager, it isn't. But the wonderful, data-driven reality is that for the initial occasion in ages, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that somebody other than Celtic or Rangers can win.