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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole surprising aspect of Heart of Midlothian's victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how surprised people seemed when news of the result and its impact for the top of the standings circulated. While this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which puts the Jambos leading of the table and eight points ahead of their rivals, was earth-shattering in nature, nobody who has been tracking the progress of both team this season will have been even remotely shocked by the final score.

Over the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish football between them, reducing fitba to something of a punchline in the meantime. Several matches into the current season it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who count celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their famous supporters – might just be prepared to strike while the Glasgow duo influence is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

Although a lot of the focus in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at Ibrox has resulted in that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been able to worsen unnoticed. The reigning champions have already dropped a considerable number from nine league games this term under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has developed the distant look of a man who constantly consulting his Google calendar to find out how many days are left until his contract expires, and awoke this day to discover the answer is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in all my time here," he informed the media following the loss, after they had questioned his appetite 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, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the horrific beginning to the season being endured by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his men could typically be expected to get away with their own failure to start strongly, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the mix. Despite being forced to operate with a budget that is not just a small portion of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the investment and expertise of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership equation. As well as investing ten million pounds during the summer, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts sole use of his top secret analytics-based proprietary scouting player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to unearth unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a modest car. Seen at their home venue on Sunday sporting a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be observed cheering each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had likely noticed the oddsmakers had massively underestimated his side's chances of defeating the struggling champions, and filled his boots accordingly.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer the head coach after his team's most recent victory, their eighth in nine league matches. "It might be for others on the outside looking in. It might change perceptions. It may confirm opinions that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the lads have given us. Technically, we appear in a strong position, and definitely physically we look in a good place, so we hope it persists. Naturally, it's not a position that this club is used to being in." Correct, Derek, it is not. But the glorious, analytics-backed truth is that for the first time in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that somebody besides the traditional powers can win.