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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole surprising aspect of Hearts' victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was just how taken aback observers appeared when reports of the outcome and its impact for the top of the standings emerged. Although this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which leaves the Edinburgh side leading of the league and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was seismic in scale, nobody who has been following the fortunes of both team this season will have been even remotely shocked by the final score.

Over the last 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish league between them, reducing fitba to almost a joke in the meantime. Several matches into the current campaign it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who number Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their famous supporters – might just be prepared to strike while the Glasgow duo iron is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

While much of the attention in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at their stadium has resulted in that the title holders' slightly less terminal decay has been able to fester unnoticed. The reigning champions have already lost a considerable number from their opening nine fixtures this term under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a individual who constantly checking his schedule to find out how many days are left until his deal ends, and woke up this morning to learn the number is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time here," he told the media following the loss, after they had doubted his desire for anything resembling a title fight. "Therefore the drive is present to attempt to reverse the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the horrific beginning to the season being experienced by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss 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 Edinburgh disruptor has joined the mix. In spite of being forced to operate with a budget that isn't so much a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have introduced the investment and expertise of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership equation. In addition to putting in £10m during the off-season, the Brighton owner has granted the club sole use of his highly confidential data-driven Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to discover unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at Tynecastle on matchday wearing a club colours, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be seen cheering each score with the gusto of a person who had almost certainly noticed the bookies had greatly underestimated his team's chances of beating the struggling title holders, and filled his boots as a result.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said bearded Hearts gaffer the head coach after his side's most recent success, their eighth win in nine outings. "It might be for others on the outside looking in. It might change perceptions. It might validate views that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the lads have provided us. Technically, we appear in a good place, and certainly in fitness we seem in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Of course, this is not a situation that the team is accustomed to being in." No, the manager, it isn't. But the glorious, analytics-backed reality is that for the first time in many years, Scottish football might actually have a championship battle that somebody other than Celtic or Rangers can claim.