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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the sole unexpected element of Hearts' victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which taken aback people appeared when reports of the result and its consequences for the top of the standings emerged. While this 3-1 win at their home ground, which leaves the Jambos top of the league and a significant margin clear of their rivals, was seismic in nature, nobody 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 past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish league between them, turning the beautiful game to something of a punchline in the process. Several matches into the present campaign it has become apparent that Hearts – who number celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – could be ready to strike while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

Although much of the attention in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being endured by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at their stadium has resulted in that the title holders' slightly less terminal decline has been allowed to fester below the radar. The reigning champions have already dropped 10 points from their opening nine league games this term under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has developed the thousand-yard stare of a man who can't stop checking his schedule to find out how many days are left until his contract expires, and woke up this day to learn the answer is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in all my time at the club," he informed reporters following the loss, after they had questioned his desire for anything resembling a title fight. "So the motivation is present to try and flip the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the dreadful beginning to the campaign being endured by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his men could normally be expected to get away with their own failure to start strongly, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the mix. Despite being obliged to operate 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 investment and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership equation. In addition to investing £10m during the off-season, the Brighton owner has provided the club sole use of his highly confidential data-driven proprietary scouting player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to unearth unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at Tynecastle on Sunday sporting a club colours, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be observed celebrating each score with the gusto of a man who had likely realized the oddsmakers had greatly underestimated his side's chances of defeating the struggling champions, and filled his boots accordingly.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired team manager the head coach after his side's most recent victory, their eighth win in nine league matches. "It might be for those on the periphery. It might change opinions. 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 definitely in fitness we seem in a good place, so long may that continue. Naturally, it's not a position that the team is used to being in." No, the manager, it isn't. But the glorious, analytics-backed truth is that for the first time in many years, the Scottish game might genuinely have a title race that a team other than Celtic or Rangers can claim.