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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the only surprising aspect of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which surprised people appeared when news of the outcome and its impact for the top of the table circulated. While this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which leaves the Edinburgh side leading of the table and eight points ahead of their rivals, was earth-shattering in nature, nobody who has been following the progress of either squad this season will have been in the least shocked by the result.

For each of the last four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish football between them, turning fitba to almost a joke in the process. Several matches into the present season it has become apparent that Hearts – who number Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – might just be prepared to strike while the Old Firm influence is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

While a lot of the attention in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being suffered by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at Ibrox has resulted in that the title holders' slightly less terminal decay has been able to worsen unnoticed. The reigning champions have already dropped a considerable number from nine league games this season under their manager. The team's boss has developed the distant look of a individual who constantly checking his schedule to see how many time are remaining until his deal expires, and awoke this day to learn the number is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure here," he told the media following the loss, after they had doubted his desire for any kind of a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is present to try and flip the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the horrific start to the season being endured by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his players could typically be expected to get away with their own failure to start strongly, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the fray. Despite being forced to function with a war-chest that isn't so much a small portion of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have introduced the investment and expertise of a renowned businessman to the SPL equation. In addition to investing £10m during the summer, the Brighton owner has provided the club exclusive use of his top secret data-driven Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to discover unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division 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 person who had likely realized the bookies had greatly underestimated his team's chances of beating the struggling champions, and filled his boots accordingly.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired team manager the head coach after his team's most recent victory, their eighth in nine league matches. "It might be for others on the outside looking in. It might change perceptions. It might validate opinions that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the players have provided us. In terms of skill, we appear in a good place, and certainly 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, the manager, it is not. But the glorious, data-driven reality is that for the first time in ages, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that a team other than Celtic or Rangers can claim.