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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the sole surprising aspect of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which surprised observers appeared when reports of the outcome and its consequences for the summit of the table emerged. Although this convincing victory at their home ground, which leaves the Jambos leading of the table and a significant margin ahead of Celtic, was earth-shattering in nature, no one who has been following the fortunes of either squad this campaign will have been even remotely astonished by the result.

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 the beautiful game to almost a joke in the process. Several matches into the current campaign it has become clear that Hearts – who number celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – might just be prepared to make their move while the Old Firm iron is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

While much of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being suffered by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at their stadium has resulted in that the title holders' comparatively less severe decay has been able to worsen unnoticed. The reigning champions have so far dropped 10 points 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 checking his schedule to see how many days are remaining until his contract expires, and woke up this day to learn the number is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time at the club," he told reporters following the defeat, after they had questioned his appetite for anything resembling a championship battle. "So the motivation is there to attempt to reverse the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the horrific beginning to the season being experienced by Rangers, Rodgers and his men could typically be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own failure to roar out of the traps, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the fray. Despite being obliged to operate with a war-chest that isn't so much a small portion of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have introduced the money and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the SPL equation. As well as putting in ten million pounds during the summer, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts sole use of his highly confidential data-driven proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to unearth unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a modest car. Seen at Tynecastle on Sunday sporting a club colours, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be seen celebrating each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had almost certainly noticed the bookies had massively misjudged his team's prospects of beating the struggling title holders, and filled his boots accordingly.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said bearded team manager Derek McInnes after his team's latest success, their eighth win in nine outings. "It might be for others on the periphery. It could alter perceptions. It may confirm views that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the players have given us. In terms of skill, we appear in a good place, and definitely in fitness we look in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Of course, this is not a situation that this club is accustomed to being in." Correct, Derek, it is not. But the glorious, data-driven reality is that for the initial occasion in many years, the Scottish game might genuinely have a title race that a team other than the traditional powers can win.