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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the only unexpected element of Heart of Midlothian's victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was just how taken aback people seemed when reports of the outcome and its impact for the summit of the table circulated. While this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which puts the Jambos top of the table and a significant margin clear of their rivals, was earth-shattering in nature, no one who has been following the fortunes of both squad this season 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 something of a punchline in the meantime. Several matches into the current campaign it has become clear that Hearts – who number celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – might just be prepared to strike while the Glasgow duo iron is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

Although much of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at Ibrox has meant that the title holders' slightly less terminal decay has been able to worsen unnoticed. The defending title winners have already dropped 10 points from their opening nine fixtures this term under their manager. The team's boss has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a individual who can't stop consulting his schedule to see how many days are left until his contract ends, and woke up this morning to learn the number is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure here," he told reporters following the loss, after they had questioned his desire for any kind of a title fight. "So the motivation is present to attempt to flip the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the horrific beginning to the season being experienced by Rangers, Rodgers and his players could normally be expected to get away with their own inability to start strongly, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has joined the fray. In spite of being forced to function with a budget that is not just a small portion of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have added the money and expertise of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership mix. In addition to putting in ten million pounds during the summer, the Brighton owner has provided the club sole use of his top secret data-driven Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to discover unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a modest car. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday sporting a club colours, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be observed cheering each score with the enthusiasm of a person who had likely realized the oddsmakers had greatly underestimated his team's chances of beating the struggling champions, and placed large bets as a result.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired team manager Derek McInnes after his team's latest victory, their eighth win in nine outings. "It might be for those on the outside looking in. It could alter perceptions. It might validate views that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the players have provided us. In terms of skill, we look in a strong position, and certainly physically we look in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Naturally, it's not a position that the team is accustomed to being in." Correct, Derek, it is not. But the wonderful, analytics-backed truth is that for the initial occasion in many years, the Scottish game might genuinely have a title race that somebody besides Celtic or Rangers can claim.