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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the only unexpected aspect of Heart of Midlothian's victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which surprised observers appeared when reports of the outcome and its consequences for the top of the table circulated. While this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which leaves the Edinburgh side leading of the league and a significant margin clear of their rivals, was seismic in nature, no one who has been following the progress of both team this season will have been in the least shocked by the final score.

Over the last four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish football between them, reducing fitba to something of a punchline in the process. Several matches into the current season it has become apparent that Hearts – who count celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – could be ready to make their move while the Old Firm influence is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

While much of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being endured by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at their stadium has meant that the title holders' comparatively less severe decay has been able to fester below the radar. The reigning champions have so far dropped 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 time are left until his deal expires, and woke up this day to discover the number is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time here," he told the media following the loss, after they had doubted his appetite for any kind of a championship battle. "So the motivation is there to attempt to reverse the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the dreadful beginning to the campaign being endured by Rangers, Rodgers and his players could normally be expected to get away with their own failure to roar out of the traps, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the mix. In spite of being obliged to operate with a budget that is not just a small portion of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have added the money and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership mix. In addition to investing £10m during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has provided Hearts exclusive use of his highly confidential data-driven Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to discover unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a modest car. Seen at their home venue on matchday sporting a club colours, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be observed celebrating each goal with the gusto of a person who had almost certainly realized the oddsmakers had greatly misjudged his team's prospects of beating the out-of-sorts title holders, and placed large bets as a result.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said bearded team manager the head coach after his team's most recent success, their eighth in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for those on the outside looking in. It could alter perceptions. It may confirm opinions that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have given us. In terms of skill, we look in a strong position, and certainly in fitness we seem in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Of course, it's not a position that the team is used to being in." No, the manager, it is not. But the wonderful, analytics-backed truth is that for the initial occasion in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that a team other than Celtic or Rangers can claim.