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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole surprising aspect of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was just how surprised observers appeared when reports of the result and its consequences for the top of the standings circulated. Although this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Jambos top of the league and eight points ahead of their rivals, was earth-shattering in scale, no one who has been tracking the fortunes of either squad this campaign will have been even remotely shocked by the final score.

For each of the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish league between them, turning fitba to almost a joke in the meantime. Several matches into the present season it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – might just be prepared to strike while the Glasgow duo influence is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

While much of the focus in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being endured by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at Ibrox has resulted in that Celtic's comparatively less severe decay has been able to worsen unnoticed. The reigning champions have already dropped 10 points from their opening nine fixtures this season under their manager. The team's boss has developed the thousand-yard stare of a individual who can't stop checking his schedule to find out how many time are remaining until his deal expires, and woke up this day to learn the number is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time at the club," he told the media following the loss, after they had doubted his appetite for any kind of a title fight. "Therefore the drive is there to try and reverse the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the horrific beginning to the season being endured by Rangers, Rodgers and his players could normally be expected to escape scrutiny for their own inability to start strongly, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the mix. In spite of being obliged to function with a war-chest that isn't so much a small portion of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have added the money and expertise of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership mix. As well as investing £10m during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has provided Hearts exclusive use of his top secret data-driven proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to unearth hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a modest car. Spotted at their home venue on matchday sporting a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be seen celebrating each score with the gusto of a man who had likely noticed the oddsmakers had massively misjudged his team's chances of beating the struggling champions, and placed large bets accordingly.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said bearded team manager Derek McInnes after his side's latest success, their eighth in nine outings. "It might be for those on the periphery. It could alter perceptions. It may confirm views that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the players have given us. Technically, we look in a good place, and definitely in fitness we seem in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Of course, this is not a situation that the team is used to being in." Correct, Derek, it isn't. But the wonderful, analytics-backed truth is that for the initial occasion in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that somebody other than Celtic or Rangers can win.