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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the only unexpected element of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was just how taken aback observers seemed when reports of the outcome and its impact for the summit of the standings emerged. While this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which puts the Jambos leading of the table and a significant margin clear of their rivals, was seismic in nature, no one who has been tracking the fortunes of either team this season will have been in the least shocked by the final score.

For each of the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish league between them, reducing fitba to something of a joke in the meantime. Several matches into the current campaign it has become apparent that Hearts – who count celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – could be prepared to strike while the Old Firm iron is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

Although a lot of the attention in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being suffered by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at Ibrox has meant that Celtic's comparatively less severe decay has been allowed to fester unnoticed. The reigning champions have so far lost a considerable number from their opening nine fixtures this term under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a individual who can't stop consulting his Google calendar to find out how many time are left until his deal expires, and awoke this day to discover the answer is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in all my time here," he informed the media following the defeat, after they had questioned his desire for anything resembling a championship battle. "So the motivation is there to attempt to flip the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the dreadful start to the season being experienced by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his men could normally be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own failure to roar out of the traps, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the mix. Despite being forced to function with a budget that is not just a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have introduced the money and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership equation. In addition to putting in ten million pounds during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has granted the club sole use of his top secret analytics-based Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to unearth 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 Tynecastle on Sunday wearing a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be seen celebrating each goal with the enthusiasm of a man who had likely noticed the bookies had greatly underestimated his side's prospects of beating the struggling champions, and placed large bets as a result.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said bearded Hearts gaffer the head coach after his team's most recent success, their eighth in nine league matches. "It might be for those on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It may confirm views that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the players have given us. Technically, we look in a strong position, and certainly physically we seem in a good place, so we hope it persists. Of course, it's not a position that this club is used to being in." Correct, the manager, it isn't. But the glorious, data-driven truth is that for the initial occasion in many years, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that somebody other than Celtic or Rangers can win.