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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole surprising element of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which taken aback people appeared when reports of the outcome and its impact for the top of the table emerged. Although this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Jambos top of the league and a significant margin ahead of their rivals, was seismic in scale, no one who has been following the fortunes of either squad this season 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 divided the Scottish football between them, turning fitba to something of a joke in the process. Several matches into the present campaign it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their famous supporters – might just be prepared to make their move while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

While much of the focus in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at Ibrox has meant that Celtic's comparatively less severe decline has been allowed to fester below the radar. The reigning champions have already dropped 10 points from nine fixtures this season under their manager. 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 remaining until his contract expires, and woke up this day to learn the answer is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure here," he informed the media following the defeat, after they had doubted his desire for any kind of a title fight. "Therefore the drive is there to attempt to flip the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the horrific beginning to the season being experienced by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his players could typically be expected to get away with their own inability to start strongly, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the mix. Despite being forced to operate with a budget that is not just a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have introduced the investment and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership mix. As well as putting in £10m during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has provided the club sole use of his highly confidential analytics-based proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to discover unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at their home venue on Sunday sporting a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be seen celebrating each score with the gusto of a person who had likely realized the bookies had massively misjudged his team's prospects of beating the struggling title holders, and placed large bets as a result.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer the head coach after his side's latest success, their eighth in nine outings. "It might be for others on the periphery. It could alter 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 good place, and certainly physically 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, Derek, it is not. But the glorious, analytics-backed truth is that for the initial occasion in ages, Scottish football might genuinely have a championship battle that a team other than Celtic or Rangers can win.