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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the only surprising aspect of Heart of Midlothian's victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how taken aback observers seemed when reports of the outcome and its consequences for the summit of the table circulated. Although this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which leaves the Edinburgh side leading of the table and eight points ahead of their rivals, was earth-shattering in scale, nobody who has been following the fortunes of both team this campaign will have been in the least shocked by the result.

For each of the last four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish football between them, turning fitba to almost a joke in the meantime. Several matches into the present campaign it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – could be prepared to strike while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

Although 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 situation at their stadium has meant that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been able to fester below the radar. The defending title winners have so far lost 10 points from nine league games this season under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a man who can't stop checking his schedule to see how many time are remaining until his deal expires, and woke up this morning to learn the number is 246.

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

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the dreadful beginning to the campaign being endured by Rangers, Rodgers and his men could normally be anticipated to get away with their own failure to roar out of the traps, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the fray. In spite of being forced to operate with a budget that is not just a small portion of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have introduced the money and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the SPL equation. In addition to investing ten million pounds during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has provided Hearts sole use of his highly confidential analytics-based proprietary scouting player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to discover hidden talents 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 mid-range family saloon. Spotted at Tynecastle on Sunday sporting a club colours, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be seen cheering each score with the enthusiasm of a man who had almost certainly realized the bookies had greatly misjudged his team's chances of beating the struggling title holders, and placed large bets accordingly.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his team's most recent victory, their eighth win in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for those on the periphery. It might change opinions. It may confirm views that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have provided us. Technically, we look in a good place, and definitely physically we look in a good place, so long may that continue. Naturally, it's not a position that the team is used to being in." Correct, the manager, it is not. But the glorious, analytics-backed truth is that for the first time in many years, the Scottish game might actually have a championship battle that a team other than the traditional powers can win.