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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the sole unexpected element of Hearts' triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which surprised observers appeared when reports of the outcome and its impact for the summit of the standings circulated. While this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which puts the Jambos top of the league and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was earth-shattering in nature, nobody who has been following the fortunes of both team this campaign will have been even remotely astonished by the final score.

For each of the past 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish football between them, reducing the beautiful game to almost a joke in the meantime. Several matches into the current season it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who count celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – could be prepared to make their move while the Glasgow duo iron is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

While a lot of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at their stadium has meant that Celtic's comparatively less severe decline has been able to fester unnoticed. The reigning champions have already lost 10 points from nine league games this term under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has developed the thousand-yard stare of a man who constantly consulting his Google calendar to see how many time are remaining until his deal ends, and woke up this day to learn the number is 246.

"I've never worked harder in all my time here," he told reporters following the loss, after they had doubted his desire for any kind of a championship battle. "So the motivation is present to attempt to flip the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the horrific start to the campaign being endured by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his players could normally be expected to escape scrutiny for their own failure to start strongly, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the fray. Despite being forced to operate with a budget that isn't so much a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have introduced the money and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership equation. As well as putting in £10m during the summer, the Brighton owner has granted the club sole use of his top secret analytics-based proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to discover unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a modest car. Seen at their home venue on matchday wearing a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be seen cheering each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had almost certainly realized the oddsmakers had greatly underestimated his team's prospects of defeating the struggling title holders, and filled his boots as a result.

COACH'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said bearded team manager the head coach after his side's most recent success, their eighth win in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for others on the outside looking in. It could alter perceptions. It may confirm opinions that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the players have given us. Technically, we look in a good place, and certainly physically we look in a good place, so long may that continue. Naturally, this is not a situation that the team is accustomed to being in." No, the manager, it is not. But the glorious, data-driven reality is that for the initial occasion in many years, Scottish football might actually have a title race that a team other than Celtic or Rangers can win.