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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the only unexpected aspect of Heart of Midlothian's victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how surprised observers appeared when news of the outcome and its consequences for the summit of the standings circulated. Although this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which puts the Jambos top of the table and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was earth-shattering in scale, nobody who has been following the progress of either team this season will have been in the least shocked by the result.

For each of the last 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to almost a joke in the meantime. Several matches into the current campaign it has become apparent that Hearts – who number celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their famous supporters – could be prepared to make their move while the Glasgow duo influence is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

Although a lot of the attention in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being endured by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the situation at their stadium has meant that Celtic's slightly less terminal decay has been allowed to worsen unnoticed. The reigning champions have already dropped a considerable number from their opening nine fixtures this season under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has developed the distant look of a man who constantly consulting his schedule to find out how many days are left until his deal expires, and awoke this morning to discover the number is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure here," he told reporters following the loss, after they had doubted his appetite for any kind of a title fight. "So the motivation is there to try and reverse the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the dreadful beginning to the season being endured by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his men could typically be anticipated to get away with their own inability to start strongly, but this year an capital city challenger has entered the mix. In spite of being forced to operate with a budget that isn't so much a small portion of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have added the money and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the SPL equation. As well as putting in ten million pounds during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has provided the club sole use of his top secret analytics-based proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to unearth hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a modest car. Seen at their home venue on matchday sporting a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be observed cheering each goal with the gusto of a man who had almost certainly realized the oddsmakers had massively underestimated his side's chances of beating the struggling champions, and placed large bets as a result.

COACH'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired team manager Derek McInnes after his side's most recent victory, their eighth in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for those on the outside looking in. It could alter perceptions. It might validate views that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the players have given us. Technically, we appear in a good place, and definitely physically we look in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Of course, it's not a position that the team is used to being in." Correct, the manager, it isn't. But the glorious, analytics-backed truth is that for the initial occasion in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a championship battle that somebody other than Celtic or Rangers can win.