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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the only surprising element of Hearts' victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how taken aback observers appeared when news of the outcome and its impact for the summit of the standings emerged. While this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which puts the Edinburgh side leading of the league and eight points ahead of their rivals, was earth-shattering in nature, no one who has been following the progress of both team this campaign will have been even remotely shocked by the final score.

Over the past four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish league between them, reducing fitba to something of a punchline in the process. Several matches into the current campaign it has become apparent that Hearts – who number Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – could be ready to make their move while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

While a lot of the focus in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the situation at their stadium has resulted in that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been able to worsen unnoticed. The defending title winners have so far lost 10 points from nine league games this term under their manager. The Celtic manager has developed the thousand-yard stare of a individual who constantly checking his Google calendar to see how many days are left until his contract expires, and awoke this day to learn the number is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure at the club," he told the media following the loss, after they had questioned his desire for any kind of a championship battle. "So the motivation is there to try and reverse the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the dreadful start to the season being experienced by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his men could normally be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own failure to roar out of the traps, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the mix. In spite of being obliged to function with a war-chest that is not just a small portion of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have added the investment and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership equation. In addition to investing ten million pounds during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has granted Hearts sole use of his top secret data-driven proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to unearth hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday wearing a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be observed cheering each score with the gusto of a person who had likely realized the oddsmakers had greatly underestimated his team's prospects of defeating the out-of-sorts champions, and filled his boots accordingly.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a statement win," said bearded team manager the head coach after his side's latest success, their eighth win in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for others on the outside looking in. It might change opinions. It might validate opinions that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the lads have given us. In terms of skill, we look in a strong position, and certainly physically we seem in a good place, so we hope it persists. Naturally, it's not a position that the team is used to being in." No, the manager, it isn't. But the glorious, data-driven truth is that for the initial occasion in many years, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that a team besides the traditional powers can claim.