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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the sole surprising element of Heart of Midlothian's victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how surprised people seemed when reports of the outcome and its impact for the summit of the table emerged. Although this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Edinburgh side leading of the table and a significant margin ahead of their rivals, was earth-shattering in scale, no one who has been following the progress of both team this season will have been in the least shocked by the result.

Over the last four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish football between them, reducing fitba to something of a joke in the process. Several matches into the current season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – could be ready to strike while the Glasgow duo iron is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

Although a lot of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being suffered by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at Ibrox has resulted in that the title holders' slightly less terminal decline has been allowed to fester unnoticed. The reigning champions have already lost 10 points from their opening nine fixtures this term under their manager. The team's boss has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a man who constantly consulting his Google calendar to see how many time are remaining until his deal expires, and woke up this morning to discover the answer is 246.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure here," he told reporters following the defeat, after they had questioned his desire for any kind of a title fight. "Therefore the drive is present to try and flip the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the horrific beginning to the season being endured by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his men could typically be expected to get away with their own failure to start strongly, but this year an capital city challenger has joined the fray. In spite of being obliged to function with a budget that isn't so much a small portion of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have added the investment and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the SPL mix. As well as investing £10m during the summer, the Brighton owner has provided the club sole use of his top secret data-driven proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to unearth unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at Tynecastle on matchday wearing a club colours, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be seen cheering each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had almost certainly noticed the oddsmakers had greatly underestimated his team's chances of defeating the struggling champions, and placed large bets accordingly.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his team's latest success, their eighth in nine outings. "It might be for others on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It may confirm opinions that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the lads have provided us. Technically, we appear in a strong position, and certainly in fitness we seem in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Of course, it's not a position that the team is accustomed to being in." No, Derek, it is not. But the wonderful, data-driven truth is that for the initial occasion in many years, the Scottish game might actually have a championship battle that somebody other than Celtic or Rangers can claim.