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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the only surprising aspect of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which taken aback observers appeared when reports of the outcome and its impact for the top of the standings circulated. Although this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which puts the Edinburgh side leading of the table and eight points clear of Celtic, was earth-shattering in nature, no one who has been tracking the progress of either team this campaign will have been in the least shocked by the result.

For each of the last 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to almost a punchline in the process. Several matches into the current season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who number Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – might just be ready to strike while the Old Firm influence is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

While much of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the situation at their stadium has meant that the title holders' slightly less terminal decay has been allowed to fester unnoticed. The defending title winners have already lost 10 points from their opening nine fixtures this season under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has developed the distant look of a individual who can't stop consulting his schedule to see how many time are left until his deal ends, and awoke this day to discover the number is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in all my time at the club," he informed the media following the defeat, after they had questioned his appetite for anything resembling a title fight. "So the motivation is there to attempt to reverse the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the dreadful start to the campaign being experienced by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his players could typically be anticipated to get away with their own failure to start strongly, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the fray. In spite of being obliged to function with a war-chest that is not just a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the money and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the SPL equation. In addition to investing £10m during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has granted the club exclusive use of his highly confidential analytics-based Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to unearth unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at their home venue on matchday sporting a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be observed cheering each score with the gusto of a person who had almost certainly noticed the bookies had massively underestimated his side's prospects of defeating the struggling champions, and filled his boots accordingly.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said bearded Hearts gaffer the head coach after his side's latest victory, their eighth in nine outings. "It might be for others on the periphery. It might change opinions. It may confirm views that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the lads have provided us. Technically, we appear in a good place, and certainly physically we look in a good place, so we hope it persists. Of course, this is not a situation that this club is used to being in." No, the manager, it is not. But the glorious, analytics-backed truth is that for the initial occasion in many years, the Scottish game might actually have a championship battle that somebody besides the traditional powers can win.