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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole surprising aspect of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which surprised people appeared when reports of the result and its impact for the top of the table emerged. Although this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which leaves the Jambos top of the table and a significant margin ahead of their rivals, was earth-shattering in scale, nobody who has been following the progress of either squad this season will have been even remotely astonished by the result.

For each of the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to almost a punchline in the process. Nine games into the present campaign it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who number celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – might just be prepared to strike while the Glasgow duo iron is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

While a lot of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the situation at Ibrox has resulted in that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been able to fester below the radar. The defending title winners have already lost 10 points from nine league games this season under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a individual who can't stop consulting his schedule to find out how many time are remaining until his deal expires, and woke up this day to discover the number is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time here," he told reporters following the loss, after they had doubted his desire for any kind of a title fight. "So the motivation is present to attempt to reverse the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the dreadful beginning to the campaign being endured by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his players could normally be expected to get away with their own failure to start strongly, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has entered the fray. Despite being forced to operate with a budget that is not just a small portion of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have introduced the investment and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership mix. In addition to putting in £10m during the summer, the Brighton owner has provided Hearts 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 hidden talents 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. Spotted at Tynecastle on Sunday sporting a club colours, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be observed celebrating each score with the gusto of a man who had almost certainly realized the oddsmakers had massively misjudged his team's chances of defeating the struggling champions, and filled his boots as a result.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a statement win," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer the head coach after his team's most recent success, their eighth in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for others on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It might validate views that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the players have provided us. Technically, we look in a good place, and certainly physically we look in a good place, so we hope it persists. Of course, it's not a position that this club is accustomed to being in." No, Derek, it is not. But the glorious, data-driven truth is that for the initial occasion in many years, the Scottish game might genuinely have a championship battle that a team besides the traditional powers can win.