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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole surprising aspect of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which surprised people seemed when news of the result and its impact for the summit of the standings emerged. Although this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Jambos top of the league and eight points clear of their rivals, was seismic in nature, 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 past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish football between them, reducing fitba to something of a punchline in the process. Several matches into the current campaign it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who number celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – might just be prepared to make their move while the Glasgow duo iron is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

Although a lot of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being suffered by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at Ibrox has meant that the title holders' comparatively less severe decline has been able to fester below the radar. The reigning champions have so far lost a considerable number from nine league games this term under their manager. The team's boss has acquired the distant look of a man who constantly checking his Google calendar to see how many days are remaining until his contract ends, and awoke this morning to learn the answer is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in all my time here," he told the media following the loss, after they had questioned his appetite for any kind of a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is there to attempt to reverse the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the dreadful beginning to the campaign being experienced by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his players could typically be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own failure to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the mix. Despite being forced to function with a budget that isn't so much a small portion of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have added the investment and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the SPL equation. In addition to putting in ten million pounds during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has granted the club exclusive use of his highly confidential analytics-based proprietary scouting player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to unearth unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday wearing a club colours, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be observed celebrating each score with the gusto of a person who had almost certainly realized the oddsmakers had greatly misjudged his side's chances of beating the out-of-sorts champions, and placed large bets as a result.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a statement win," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer the head coach after his side's latest success, their eighth win in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for those on the periphery. It could alter perceptions. It may confirm views that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the players have provided us. Technically, we look in a strong position, and certainly physically we seem in a good place, so long may that continue. Of course, it's not a position that the team is accustomed to being in." No, the manager, it is not. But the wonderful, data-driven truth is that for the first time in ages, the Scottish game might genuinely have a title race that somebody other than Celtic or Rangers can claim.