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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole surprising aspect of Hearts' triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was just how surprised observers appeared when reports of the result and its impact for the top of the table circulated. Although this 3-1 win at their home ground, which leaves the Jambos top of the table and a significant margin clear of their rivals, was seismic in scale, no one who has been following the progress of both squad this campaign will have been in the least shocked by the result.

For each of the last 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish league between them, reducing the beautiful game to something of a joke in the meantime. Several matches into the current campaign it has become apparent that Hearts – who count Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their famous supporters – might just be prepared to make their move while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

While much of the focus in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at their stadium has resulted in that Celtic's slightly less terminal decay has been able to worsen unnoticed. The reigning champions have so far dropped a considerable number from nine fixtures this term under their manager. The team's boss has acquired the distant look of a man who constantly consulting his schedule to see how many days are left until his deal expires, and awoke this morning to discover the number is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure at the club," he told reporters following the defeat, after they had questioned his appetite for anything resembling a championship battle. "So the motivation is there to try and flip the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the horrific start to the campaign being endured by Rangers, Rodgers 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 mix. In spite of being forced to operate with a budget that isn't so much a small portion of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have added the investment and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the SPL equation. As well as investing £10m during the off-season, the Brighton owner has provided the club sole use of his highly confidential data-driven proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to discover hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at Tynecastle on Sunday wearing a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be observed celebrating each score with the enthusiasm of a person who had likely noticed the bookies had greatly misjudged his side's chances of beating the struggling title holders, and placed large bets as a result.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said bearded Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his side's most recent victory, their eighth in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for others on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It may confirm views that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have given us. Technically, we look in a good place, and certainly in fitness we seem in a good place, so we hope it persists. Of course, this is not a situation that this club is accustomed to being in." No, the manager, it isn't. But the wonderful, analytics-backed truth is that for the initial occasion in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a championship battle that somebody besides Celtic or Rangers can claim.