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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the only surprising aspect of Heart of Midlothian's victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how surprised observers appeared when news of the outcome and its impact for the summit of the table emerged. While this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which puts the Jambos leading of the table and a significant margin clear of their rivals, was seismic in scale, nobody who has been following the progress of both team this season will have been in the least shocked by the final score.

Over the last 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish football between them, reducing fitba to almost a punchline in the meantime. Nine games into the current campaign it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – might just be prepared to strike while the Glasgow duo influence is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

While much of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at Ibrox has resulted in that Celtic's comparatively less severe decline has been able to worsen below the radar. The reigning champions have so far dropped a considerable number from nine league games this season under their manager. The team's boss has developed the thousand-yard stare of a individual who can't stop consulting his schedule to find out how many days are left until his deal ends, and awoke this morning to discover the answer is over two hundred.

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

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the horrific beginning to the season being experienced by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his players could normally be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own failure to start strongly, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the mix. Despite being forced to operate with a budget that isn't so much a small portion of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have introduced the investment and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the SPL equation. As well as putting in ten million pounds during the off-season, the Brighton owner has provided Hearts exclusive use of his top secret data-driven proprietary scouting player identification system.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to discover unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a modest car. Spotted at their home venue on matchday wearing a club colours, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be seen celebrating each goal with the enthusiasm of a man who had almost certainly realized the oddsmakers had massively underestimated his side's chances of beating the struggling title holders, and filled his boots as a result.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his side's most recent success, their eighth in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for those on the periphery. It might change opinions. It may confirm opinions that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the players have provided us. In terms of skill, we look 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 the team is accustomed to being in." Correct, the manager, it isn't. But the glorious, data-driven reality is that for the first time in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a championship battle that somebody besides the traditional powers can claim.