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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the only unexpected element of Heart of Midlothian's victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which taken aback observers seemed when reports of the result and its impact for the top of the standings circulated. Although this convincing victory at their home ground, which leaves the Edinburgh side top of the league and a significant margin ahead of their rivals, was earth-shattering in scale, no one who has been tracking the fortunes of either squad this campaign will have been in the least shocked by the result.

For each of the past four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish football between them, reducing the beautiful game to something of a joke in the process. Several matches into the present campaign it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who number Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – could be ready to make their move while the Glasgow duo iron is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

Although much of the focus in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being endured by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at Ibrox has resulted in that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been allowed to fester unnoticed. The reigning champions have already dropped 10 points from nine league games this season under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has developed the distant look of a individual who can't stop checking his schedule to see how many time are left until his deal ends, and awoke this day to learn the answer is 246.

"I've never worked harder in all my time at the club," he told the media following the defeat, after they had doubted his appetite for anything resembling a championship battle. "So the motivation is there to attempt to reverse the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the horrific beginning to the season being endured by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his players could typically be expected to get away with their own failure to start strongly, but this year an capital city challenger has joined the mix. In spite of being obliged to function with a budget that is not just a small portion of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have introduced the investment and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership equation. As well as putting in ten million pounds during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has granted the club exclusive use of his highly confidential data-driven proprietary scouting player identification system.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to unearth hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at their home venue on Sunday wearing a club colours, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be observed cheering each score with the gusto of a man who had almost certainly noticed the oddsmakers had massively misjudged his side's chances of defeating the struggling champions, and placed large bets as a result.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired team manager the head coach after his team's latest success, their eighth win in nine league matches. "It might be for those on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It may confirm opinions that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the players have given us. In terms of skill, we look in a good place, and definitely in fitness we look in a good place, so we hope it persists. Naturally, it's not a position that the team is used to being in." Correct, Derek, it is not. But the wonderful, data-driven reality is that for the first time in many years, the Scottish game might genuinely have a title race that somebody other than Celtic or Rangers can win.