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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the only surprising aspect of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how taken aback observers appeared when reports of the result and its impact for the top of the table emerged. While this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which leaves the Edinburgh side leading of the table and a significant margin clear of their rivals, was seismic in scale, no one who has been tracking the fortunes of both team this season will have been even remotely shocked by the final score.

Over the past four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish football between them, turning fitba to almost a joke in the process. Several matches into the present season it has become apparent that Hearts – who number celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – could be ready to strike while the Glasgow duo influence is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

Although much of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being endured by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at Ibrox has resulted in that Celtic's comparatively less severe decay has been allowed to fester below the radar. The defending title winners have already lost a considerable number from nine fixtures this season under their manager. The team's boss has developed the thousand-yard stare of a man who can't stop checking his Google calendar to find out how many time are left until his contract ends, and woke up this day to learn the answer is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure at the club," he told reporters following the loss, after they had doubted his appetite for anything resembling a championship battle. "So the motivation is present to attempt to flip the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the horrific beginning to the campaign being endured by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his players could normally be expected to get away with their own inability to start strongly, but this year an capital city challenger has joined the fray. In spite of being obliged 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 investment and expertise of Tony Bloom to the SPL mix. In addition to investing £10m during the off-season, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts exclusive use of his highly confidential analytics-based Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, 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 mid-range family saloon. Spotted at their home venue on matchday wearing a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be seen cheering each score with the gusto of a man who had almost certainly realized the bookies had greatly misjudged his side's prospects of beating the out-of-sorts title holders, and placed large bets as a result.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said bearded Hearts gaffer the head coach after his team's latest success, their eighth win in nine outings. "It might be for others on the outside looking in. It might change opinions. It may confirm opinions that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the players have provided us. Technically, we look in a strong position, and certainly in fitness we look 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 isn't. But the glorious, data-driven truth is that for the first time in many years, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that somebody besides the traditional powers can win.