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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole surprising element of Heart of Midlothian's victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was just how surprised people seemed when news of the result and its impact for the top of the table circulated. While 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 earth-shattering in scale, nobody who has been tracking the fortunes of both squad this season will have been in the least astonished by the result.

Over the past 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish league between them, turning fitba to something of a joke in the process. Several matches into the present season it has become apparent that Hearts – who number Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – could be prepared to strike while the Old Firm iron is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

Although much of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being suffered by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at their stadium has resulted in that the title holders' slightly less terminal decline has been allowed to worsen below the radar. The reigning champions have already dropped 10 points from nine fixtures this season under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has developed the distant look of a individual who can't stop consulting his schedule to find out how many time are left until his contract ends, and awoke this day to discover the answer is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time here," he informed reporters following the loss, after they had doubted his appetite for anything resembling a championship battle. "So the motivation is present to try and flip the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the dreadful beginning to the season being experienced by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his men could normally be expected to escape scrutiny for their own failure to roar out of the traps, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the fray. Despite being forced to function with a war-chest that isn't so much a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have added the money and expertise of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership equation. In addition to putting in £10m during the off-season, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts sole use of his highly confidential analytics-based Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to discover hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a modest car. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday sporting a club colours, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be seen cheering each score with the gusto of a person who had likely realized the bookies had greatly underestimated his side's prospects of defeating the struggling title holders, and placed large bets accordingly.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a statement win," said the facial-haired team manager Derek McInnes after his side's latest victory, their eighth win in nine outings. "It might be for those on the outside looking in. It could alter opinions. It may confirm views that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the lads have provided us. Technically, we look in a strong position, and certainly physically we look in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Naturally, it's not a position that this club is used to being in." No, the manager, it is not. But the wonderful, data-driven truth is that for the initial occasion in ages, Scottish football might genuinely have a championship battle that somebody besides the traditional powers can win.