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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole unexpected aspect of Hearts' victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which taken aback observers appeared when news of the outcome and its impact for the summit of the table circulated. Although this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Edinburgh side leading of the league and eight points clear of Celtic, was earth-shattering in nature, nobody who has been tracking the fortunes of either team this campaign 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 Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish league between them, reducing fitba to almost a joke in the process. Several matches into the present season it has become clear that Hearts – who number Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – might just be ready to make their move while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

Although much of the attention in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at Ibrox has meant that the title holders' comparatively less severe decline has been allowed to fester unnoticed. The reigning champions have so far lost 10 points from nine fixtures this term under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has developed the thousand-yard stare of a man who constantly checking his Google calendar to find out how many days are remaining until his contract ends, and woke up this morning 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 defeat, after they had questioned his desire for anything resembling a title fight. "Therefore the drive is present to attempt to flip the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the dreadful start to the campaign being endured by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his players could typically be expected to get away with their own failure to roar out of the traps, but this year an capital city challenger has entered the mix. In spite of being forced to function with a war-chest that isn't so much a small portion of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have added the investment and expertise of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership equation. As well as putting in £10m during the off-season, the Brighton owner has provided Hearts sole use of his top secret analytics-based Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to unearth hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday wearing a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be seen cheering each score with the enthusiasm of a man who had likely realized the oddsmakers had massively underestimated his team's prospects of defeating the out-of-sorts champions, and placed large bets as a result.

COACH'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a statement win," said bearded Hearts gaffer the head coach after his side's latest success, their eighth win in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for others on the outside looking in. It might change opinions. It might validate opinions that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have provided us. Technically, we look in a strong position, and definitely physically we seem in a good place, so long may that continue. Naturally, this is not a situation that this club is accustomed to being in." No, the manager, it is not. But the wonderful, data-driven reality is that for the first time in ages, Scottish football might genuinely have a championship battle that somebody besides Celtic or Rangers can win.