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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole unexpected element of Hearts' triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which taken aback people seemed when news of the result and its consequences for the top of the table circulated. While this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Edinburgh side leading of the table and eight points ahead of their rivals, was seismic in nature, nobody who has been tracking the progress of both squad this season will have been in the least astonished by the final score.

Over the last four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish league between them, reducing fitba to something of a punchline in the process. Several matches into the current campaign it has become apparent that Hearts – who number celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – could be prepared to strike while the Glasgow duo influence is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

Although much of the attention in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being endured by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at Ibrox has meant that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been able to fester unnoticed. The defending title winners have so far lost 10 points from their opening nine fixtures this season under their manager. The Celtic manager has developed the thousand-yard stare of a man who can't stop checking his schedule to find out how many days are left until his deal ends, and awoke this morning to discover the number is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time at the club," he told the media following the defeat, after they had doubted his desire for anything resembling a title fight. "So the motivation is there to attempt to reverse the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the dreadful beginning to the campaign being experienced by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his men could typically be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own inability to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the mix. In spite of being forced to operate with a war-chest that is not just a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have added the money and expertise of a renowned businessman to the SPL equation. As well as 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 discover unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight 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 Sunday wearing a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be observed celebrating each score with the enthusiasm of a man who had almost certainly noticed the oddsmakers had massively underestimated his side's chances of defeating the out-of-sorts title holders, and placed large bets as a result.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said bearded Hearts gaffer the head coach after his side's most recent victory, their eighth win in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for those on the outside looking in. It might change opinions. It may confirm opinions that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have provided us. Technically, we look in a strong position, and definitely physically we seem in a good place, so long may that continue. Of course, it's not a position that the team is accustomed to being in." No, the manager, it is not. But the wonderful, data-driven truth is that for the initial occasion in many years, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that a team other than Celtic or Rangers can win.