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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the sole surprising aspect of Hearts' triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was just how taken aback people appeared when reports of the outcome and its impact for the summit of the standings emerged. While this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which leaves the Jambos top of the table and eight points ahead of Celtic, was seismic in nature, no one who has been following the progress of either squad this campaign will have been even remotely astonished by the final score.

For each of the last four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to something of a punchline in the process. Several matches into the present campaign it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – might just be prepared to make their move while the Old Firm influence is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

While a lot of the focus in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at Ibrox has meant that the title holders' comparatively less severe decline has been allowed to worsen unnoticed. The defending title winners have so far dropped 10 points from nine fixtures this term under their manager. The team's boss has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a man who constantly checking his schedule to find out how many days are left until his deal expires, and woke up this morning to discover the answer is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in all my time here," he told the media following the defeat, after they had doubted his appetite for any kind of a championship battle. "So the motivation is there to attempt to flip the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the horrific beginning to the season being experienced by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his players could typically be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own inability to start strongly, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the mix. In spite of being obliged to function with a war-chest that isn't so much a small portion of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the investment and expertise of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership equation. In addition to putting in £10m during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has granted Hearts sole use of his highly confidential analytics-based proprietary scouting player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to unearth unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday sporting a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be seen celebrating each goal with the gusto of a man who had likely noticed the oddsmakers had massively misjudged his side's prospects of beating the out-of-sorts champions, and placed large bets accordingly.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his team's latest success, their eighth win in nine league matches. "It might be for others on the periphery. It might change opinions. It may confirm views that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the lads have given us. In terms of skill, we appear in a good place, and definitely in fitness we look in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Naturally, this is not a situation that the team is used to being in." Correct, the manager, it is not. But the glorious, data-driven truth is that for the first time in many years, the Scottish game might actually have a championship battle that somebody besides the traditional powers can win.