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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole surprising aspect of Heart of Midlothian's victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which surprised people appeared when news of the result and its consequences for the summit of the standings circulated. While this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which puts the Edinburgh side leading of the league and eight points ahead of Celtic, was seismic in nature, nobody who has been tracking the fortunes of both squad this campaign will have been even remotely shocked by the final score.

Over the past four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish football between them, reducing the beautiful game to something of a joke in the process. Several matches into the present campaign it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who number Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – could be ready to strike while the Glasgow duo iron is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

While a lot of the attention in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being suffered by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at their stadium has meant that the title holders' comparatively less severe decay has been allowed to worsen below the radar. The defending title winners have so far lost a considerable number from nine fixtures this season under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a man who constantly consulting his Google calendar to see how many days are remaining until his contract expires, and awoke this morning to learn the answer is 246.

"I've never worked harder in all my time at the club," he told reporters following the defeat, after they had questioned his appetite for any kind of a title fight. "Therefore the drive is there to try and reverse the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the horrific start to the campaign being experienced by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his players could normally be anticipated to get away with their own failure to start strongly, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has joined the fray. In spite of being obliged to function with a war-chest that is not just a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the investment and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership mix. As well as investing ten million pounds during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has provided the club sole use of his top secret analytics-based Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to unearth unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a modest car. Spotted at their home venue on matchday wearing a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be seen celebrating each score with the gusto of a man who had almost certainly noticed the bookies had greatly misjudged his side's chances 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 Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his team's latest victory, their eighth in nine league matches. "It might be for others on the periphery. It could alter perceptions. It might validate opinions that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the lads have given us. In terms of skill, 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, Derek, it is not. But the glorious, data-driven reality is that for the initial occasion in many years, Scottish football might genuinely have a championship battle that a team besides Celtic or Rangers can win.