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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the only unexpected element of Hearts' victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how taken aback people seemed when reports of the outcome and its consequences for the top of the table circulated. Although this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which leaves the Edinburgh side top of the table and a significant margin ahead of Celtic, was earth-shattering in scale, no one who has been following the progress of both squad this season will have been in the least shocked by the result.

Over the past four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish league between them, reducing fitba to almost a joke in the process. Several matches into the current campaign it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – could be prepared to make their move while the Old Firm iron is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

Although much of the focus in Scotland 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 able to fester unnoticed. The reigning champions have so far dropped a considerable number from their opening nine fixtures this season under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has developed the thousand-yard stare of a man who constantly 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 246.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time here," he informed reporters following the loss, after they had doubted his desire for any kind of a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is present to attempt to flip the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the dreadful beginning to the campaign being endured by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his players could normally be expected to escape scrutiny for their own failure to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the fray. In spite of being forced to operate 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 a renowned businessman to the SPL mix. As well as investing ten million pounds during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has provided Hearts sole use of his top secret data-driven proprietary scouting player identification system.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to unearth 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 total price of a modest car. Spotted at Tynecastle on Sunday wearing a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be observed celebrating each goal with the gusto of a person who had likely noticed the bookies had massively misjudged his side's chances of defeating the out-of-sorts champions, and filled his boots accordingly.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his team's latest success, their eighth in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for others on the periphery. It could alter opinions. It might validate views that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the players have provided us. In terms of skill, we look in a strong position, and definitely physically we seem in a good place, so we hope it persists. Naturally, this is not a situation that the team is accustomed to being in." Correct, Derek, it is not. But the wonderful, analytics-backed reality is that for the first time in many years, the Scottish game might genuinely have a championship battle that a team besides the traditional powers can win.