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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the only surprising aspect of Heart of Midlothian's victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was just how taken aback observers seemed when news of the outcome and its impact for the summit of the table circulated. While this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Jambos leading of the table and eight points ahead of their rivals, was seismic in nature, nobody who has been tracking the fortunes of either squad this season will have been in the least shocked by the final score.

For each of the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish league between them, reducing fitba to almost a punchline in the meantime. Several matches into the present season it has become clear that Hearts – who number Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – could be prepared to make their move while the Old Firm iron is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

While much of the attention in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being endured by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the situation at their stadium has resulted in that the title holders' slightly less terminal decline has been able to worsen unnoticed. The defending title winners have already lost a considerable number from nine fixtures this season under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has developed the distant look of a man who constantly consulting his Google calendar to find out how many time are remaining until his contract expires, and awoke this morning to learn the answer is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure here," he informed reporters following the defeat, after they had doubted his desire for anything resembling a title fight. "Therefore the drive is there to attempt to reverse the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the dreadful start to the season being experienced by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his players could typically be expected to escape scrutiny for their own failure to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the mix. Despite being forced to function with a war-chest that is not just a small portion of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the money and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the SPL mix. In addition to investing £10m during the summer, the Brighton owner has granted the club exclusive use of his top secret data-driven proprietary scouting player identification system.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to unearth unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at their home venue on Sunday wearing a club colours, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be observed celebrating each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had almost certainly noticed the bookies had massively misjudged his side's chances of beating the out-of-sorts title holders, and placed large bets accordingly.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired team manager Derek McInnes after his team's most recent victory, their eighth in nine league matches. "It might be for those on the periphery. It might change opinions. It may confirm views that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have provided us. In terms of skill, we appear in a good place, and definitely in fitness we look in a good place, so we hope it persists. Naturally, this is not a situation that the team is accustomed to being in." No, the manager, it is not. But the wonderful, data-driven truth is that for the first time in many years, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that somebody besides Celtic or Rangers can claim.