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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the sole surprising aspect of Hearts' victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how surprised observers appeared when news of the result and its impact for the summit of the table circulated. While this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which puts the Jambos top of the league and eight points ahead of Celtic, was seismic in scale, no one who has been following the progress of either team this campaign will have been in the least astonished by the final score.

For each of the last 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish league between them, turning fitba to almost a punchline in the meantime. Several matches into the current campaign it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their famous supporters – might just be prepared to make their move while the Glasgow duo influence is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

While much of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at their stadium has resulted in that the title holders' comparatively less severe decay has been allowed to worsen below the radar. The defending title winners have already dropped 10 points from nine fixtures this term under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a man who can't stop consulting his schedule to find out how many time are left until his contract expires, and woke up this day to discover the number is 246.

"I've never worked harder in all my time here," he informed the media following the loss, after they had doubted his desire for any kind of a championship battle. "Therefore the drive 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 horrific beginning to the season being endured by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his men could typically be expected to escape scrutiny for their own inability to start strongly, but this year an capital city challenger has joined the fray. Despite being obliged to operate 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 investment and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the SPL mix. In addition to investing ten million pounds during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has granted the club exclusive use of his highly confidential analytics-based proprietary scouting player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to discover unpolished gems 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. Spotted at Tynecastle on Sunday wearing a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be seen cheering each score with the gusto of a man who had almost certainly noticed the oddsmakers had massively underestimated his team's prospects of defeating the struggling champions, and placed large bets accordingly.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a statement win," said bearded Hearts gaffer the head coach after his team's most recent success, their eighth in nine league matches. "It might be for those on the outside looking in. 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 lads have provided us. Technically, we appear in a good place, and certainly physically we seem in a good place, so we hope it persists. Of course, this is not a situation that the team is used to being in." No, Derek, it is not. But the glorious, data-driven truth is that for the initial occasion in ages, Scottish football might genuinely have a championship battle that somebody besides Celtic or Rangers can win.