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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole unexpected element of Heart of Midlothian's victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which taken aback people seemed when news of the outcome and its consequences for the top of the standings emerged. While this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which puts the Jambos leading of the table and eight points ahead of Celtic, was seismic in scale, no one who has been tracking the fortunes of both team this season will have been in the least shocked by the final score.

Over the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish league between them, turning the beautiful game to almost a punchline in the process. Several matches into the present campaign it has become apparent that Hearts – who count Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – might just be prepared to strike while the Old Firm iron is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

While a lot of the focus in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at their stadium has meant that Celtic's comparatively less severe decay has been able to worsen unnoticed. The defending title winners have so far lost a considerable number from nine fixtures this term under their manager. The Celtic manager has developed the thousand-yard stare of a individual who can't stop checking his schedule to see how many time are remaining until his contract ends, and awoke this day to learn the number is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in all my time here," he told reporters following the defeat, after they had questioned his appetite for anything resembling a title fight. "Therefore the drive is there to attempt to reverse the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the horrific start to the season being endured by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his men could typically be anticipated to get away with their own failure to roar out of the traps, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the fray. Despite being obliged to function with a war-chest that isn't so much a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the investment and expertise of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership mix. As well as putting in ten million pounds during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has provided the club exclusive use of his top secret data-driven proprietary scouting player identification system.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has enabled 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 modest car. Seen at their home venue on Sunday wearing a club colours, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be observed celebrating each goal with the gusto of a man who had likely noticed the bookies had greatly underestimated his team's chances of defeating the out-of-sorts champions, and placed large bets as a result.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired team manager Derek McInnes after his team's latest victory, their eighth in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for others on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It may confirm views that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the players have provided us. Technically, we appear in a good place, and definitely physically we look in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Naturally, this is not a situation that the team is used to being in." No, Derek, it isn't. But the glorious, analytics-backed truth is that for the first time in many years, the Scottish game might actually have a championship battle that a team besides the traditional powers can win.