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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the only unexpected aspect of Heart of Midlothian's victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which taken aback people appeared when news of the result and its consequences for the summit of the table circulated. Although this 3-1 win at their home ground, which leaves the Edinburgh side leading of the league and eight points clear of Celtic, was earth-shattering in scale, nobody who has been following the fortunes of both team this season will have been even remotely shocked by the final score.

Over the last 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to something of a punchline in the process. Several matches into the present campaign it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who count celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – could be ready to strike while the Glasgow duo influence is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

Although much of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at Ibrox has meant that the title holders' slightly less terminal decay has been allowed to worsen unnoticed. The reigning champions have already lost 10 points from nine fixtures this term under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has acquired the distant look of a man who constantly checking his schedule to see how many days are left until his contract ends, and woke up this morning to discover the answer is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time at the club," he told reporters following the loss, after they had questioned his appetite for any kind of a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is there to attempt to 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 experienced by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his men could normally be expected to get away with their own failure to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the fray. In spite of being forced to function with a budget that isn't so much a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the money and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the SPL mix. In addition to investing ten million pounds during the off-season, the Brighton owner has granted the club sole use of his highly confidential analytics-based proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to unearth hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a modest car. Spotted at Tynecastle on Sunday sporting a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be seen celebrating each score with the gusto of a man who had likely noticed the oddsmakers had massively underestimated his side's prospects of beating the out-of-sorts title holders, and placed large bets accordingly.

COACH'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 success, their eighth win in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for others on the periphery. It could alter perceptions. It might validate opinions that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have provided us. In terms of skill, we look in a strong position, and definitely in fitness we seem in a good place, so we hope it persists. Of course, this is not a situation that the team is accustomed to being in." No, the manager, it isn't. But the wonderful, analytics-backed reality is that for the first time in many years, Scottish football might genuinely have a championship battle that somebody besides the traditional powers can claim.