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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the sole surprising aspect of Heart of Midlothian's victory over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was just how taken aback people appeared when news of the result and its consequences for the summit of the table emerged. While this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Edinburgh side top of the table and a significant margin ahead of Celtic, was seismic in nature, nobody who has been tracking the fortunes of both team this campaign will have been in the least astonished by the final score.

For each of the last 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish league between them, reducing the beautiful game to something of a joke in the process. Several matches into the current campaign it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their famous supporters – might just be prepared to make their move while the Old Firm iron is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

Although much of the attention in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the situation at their stadium has resulted in that Celtic's slightly less terminal decay has been able to worsen unnoticed. The reigning champions have already dropped a considerable number from nine fixtures this term under their manager. The team's boss has acquired the distant look of a man who can't stop consulting his schedule to see how many days are left until his deal ends, and awoke this day to discover the answer is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure at the club," he informed reporters following the defeat, after they had doubted his desire for any kind of a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is there to attempt to reverse the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the horrific start to the season being experienced by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his men could typically be expected to escape scrutiny for their own inability to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has joined the fray. Despite being obliged to function with a budget that isn't so much a small portion of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have added the money and expertise of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership equation. In addition to investing ten million pounds during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has granted Hearts exclusive use of his top secret data-driven proprietary scouting player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to unearth unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at Tynecastle on Sunday sporting a club colours, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be seen cheering each score with the enthusiasm of a person who had likely noticed the oddsmakers had greatly underestimated his side's prospects of defeating the struggling champions, and filled his boots accordingly.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his side's most recent success, their eighth in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for those on the periphery. It could alter perceptions. It may confirm views that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have provided us. In terms of skill, we appear in a strong position, and definitely in fitness we look in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Of course, this is not a situation that the team is accustomed to being in." Correct, the manager, it is not. But the wonderful, analytics-backed truth is that for the initial occasion in ages, the Scottish game might genuinely have a title race that somebody other than Celtic or Rangers can claim.