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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the only unexpected aspect of Heart of Midlothian's victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which taken aback people seemed when news of the result and its consequences for the summit of the table circulated. While this 3-1 win at their home ground, which leaves the Edinburgh side top of the table and a significant margin ahead of their rivals, was earth-shattering in scale, no one who has been following the fortunes of both team this campaign will have been even remotely astonished by the final score.

For each of the last four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish football between them, turning fitba to something of a punchline in the meantime. Several matches into the present season it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their famous supporters – could be ready to strike while the Glasgow duo influence is at its weakest.

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 comparatively less severe decline has been able to worsen below the radar. The defending title winners have so far dropped a considerable number from nine fixtures this season under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has developed the distant look of a man who can't stop checking his schedule to see how many time are remaining until his contract ends, and awoke this day to discover the answer is 246.

"I've never worked harder in all my time here," he told the media following the defeat, after they had questioned his desire for anything resembling a championship battle. "So the motivation is there to attempt to reverse the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the horrific start to the season being experienced by Rangers, Rodgers and his men could normally be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own inability to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has joined the mix. Despite being obliged to function with a budget that is not just a small portion of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have added the investment and expertise of Tony Bloom to the SPL equation. In addition to investing £10m during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has provided the club exclusive use of his highly confidential analytics-based Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to discover hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at their home venue on Sunday wearing a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be seen cheering each score with the enthusiasm of a person who had almost certainly realized the bookies had massively misjudged his team's prospects of beating the struggling title holders, and filled his boots as a result.

COACH'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a statement win," said bearded team manager Derek McInnes after his side's most recent victory, their eighth in nine outings. "It might be for others on the outside looking in. It might change opinions. It might validate opinions that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the lads have given us. In terms of skill, we look in a good place, and definitely in fitness we look in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Naturally, it's not a position that this club is accustomed to being in." Correct, Derek, it isn't. But the wonderful, data-driven reality is that for the first time in many years, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that a team other than Celtic or Rangers can win.