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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the sole surprising element of Hearts' victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was just how surprised people seemed when reports of the outcome and its impact for the summit of the standings emerged. Although this 3-1 win at their home ground, which leaves the Edinburgh side leading of the league and eight points ahead of their rivals, was earth-shattering in nature, nobody who has been tracking the fortunes of both squad this season will have been in the least shocked by the result.

For each of the last four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish league between them, reducing fitba to almost a joke in the process. Several matches into the current season it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who count celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – might just be ready to strike while the Glasgow duo iron is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

While a lot of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being suffered by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at their stadium has resulted in that Celtic's slightly less terminal decay has been allowed to fester unnoticed. The defending title winners have so far lost 10 points from nine league games this season under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has developed the distant look of a man who constantly checking his Google calendar to find out how many days are remaining until his deal ends, 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 desire for anything resembling a title fight. "Therefore the drive is there to try and flip the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the dreadful beginning to the season being endured by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his players could normally be expected to get away with their own failure to start strongly, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has entered the fray. In spite of being forced to function with a budget 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 Scottish Premiership equation. As well as putting in ten million pounds during the summer, the Brighton owner has provided the club sole use of his top secret data-driven proprietary scouting player identification system.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to unearth hidden talents 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 mid-range family saloon. Spotted at their home venue on Sunday wearing a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be observed cheering each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had almost certainly noticed the bookies had greatly misjudged his side's prospects of defeating the out-of-sorts title holders, and filled his boots accordingly.

COACH'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said bearded Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his team's latest success, their eighth in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for those on the outside looking in. It might change perceptions. It may confirm opinions that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the lads have given us. Technically, we appear in a strong position, and certainly physically we look in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Naturally, this is not a situation that the team is used to being in." No, Derek, it isn't. But the glorious, data-driven truth is that for the first time in ages, Scottish football might actually have a title race that somebody besides the traditional powers can claim.