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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the sole surprising aspect of Heart of Midlothian's victory over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which taken aback people seemed when reports of the result and its consequences for the summit of the standings emerged. While this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which leaves the Edinburgh side top of the league and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was seismic in scale, no one who has been following the fortunes of both team this season will have been even remotely astonished by the result.

For each of the past 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 clear that Heart of Midlothian – who count celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – could be prepared to strike while the Glasgow duo iron is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

While much of the attention in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at their stadium has meant that Celtic's comparatively less severe decline has been able to fester below the radar. The reigning champions have already dropped a considerable number from nine league games this season under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has acquired the distant look of a man who can't stop checking his Google calendar to find out how many time are remaining until his contract expires, and awoke this morning to learn the number is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure here," he informed the media following the defeat, after they had doubted his desire for anything resembling a title fight. "Therefore the drive is there to attempt to flip the levels 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 players could typically be anticipated to get away with their own failure to roar out of the traps, but this year an capital city challenger has joined the mix. In spite of being obliged to function with a war-chest that is not just a small portion of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have introduced the money and expertise of a renowned businessman to the SPL mix. As well as investing £10m during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has granted the club sole use of his highly confidential data-driven proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to discover hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at Tynecastle on Sunday sporting a club colours, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be observed celebrating each score with the gusto of a man who had almost certainly realized the oddsmakers had greatly underestimated his team's prospects of beating the struggling title holders, and filled his boots as a result.

COACH'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a statement win," said bearded Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his side's most recent success, their eighth in nine league matches. "It might be for those on the outside looking in. It might change opinions. It might validate views that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the lads have given us. In terms of skill, we appear in a strong position, and certainly physically we look in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Naturally, it's not a position that the team is used to being in." Correct, the manager, it is not. But the glorious, data-driven truth is that for the initial occasion in ages, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that somebody besides the traditional powers can win.