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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the only unexpected aspect of Heart of Midlothian's victory over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which taken aback observers seemed when news of the result and its impact for the top of the table emerged. While this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Jambos leading of the table and a significant margin ahead of their rivals, was earth-shattering in nature, nobody who has been tracking the progress of either team this season will have been even remotely astonished by the final score.

For each of the past four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to something of a joke in the meantime. Nine games into the present season it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who number celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – could be prepared to make their move while the Old Firm influence is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

While much of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being suffered by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at their stadium has meant that the title holders' comparatively less severe decay has been able to worsen below the radar. The defending title winners have so far lost a considerable number from their opening nine league games this season under their manager. The team's boss has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a individual who can't stop checking his Google calendar to find out how many days are left until his deal expires, and woke up this day to discover the number is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure here," he informed reporters following the loss, after they had doubted his desire for anything resembling a title fight. "So the motivation is there to try and reverse the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the dreadful beginning to the season being experienced by Rangers, Rodgers and his men could normally be expected 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. In spite of being forced to function with a war-chest that is not just a small portion of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have introduced the investment and expertise of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership mix. In addition to investing £10m during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has provided Hearts exclusive use of his top secret analytics-based proprietary scouting player identification system.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to unearth hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a modest car. Seen at their home venue on Sunday wearing a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be observed celebrating each goal with the enthusiasm of a man who had almost certainly noticed the bookies had massively misjudged his team's prospects of defeating the struggling champions, and filled his boots as a result.

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 victory, their eighth in nine league matches. "It might be for those on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It might validate views that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the players have provided us. In terms of skill, we appear in a strong position, and certainly physically we seem in a good place, so we hope it persists. Naturally, this is not a situation that the team is used to being in." No, the manager, it is not. But the glorious, data-driven reality is that for the first time in ages, the Scottish game might genuinely have a title race that a team besides the traditional powers can win.