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JAMBOS BLAZING

Perhaps the sole surprising element of Hearts' victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which taken aback observers seemed when reports of the outcome and its impact for the top of the table emerged. Although this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which puts the Edinburgh side leading of the league and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was earth-shattering in scale, no one who has been tracking the fortunes of either squad this season will have been in the least astonished by the result.

For each of the past four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish football between them, turning fitba to almost a punchline in the process. Several matches into the present season it has become clear that Hearts – who count Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – might just be ready to strike while the Glasgow duo iron is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

Although a lot of the focus in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being endured by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at their stadium has resulted in that Celtic's slightly less terminal decay has been allowed to worsen below the radar. The reigning champions have already dropped 10 points from nine league games this season under their manager. The team's boss has acquired the distant look of a man who constantly checking his schedule to find out how many days are remaining until his deal expires, and awoke this day to learn the answer is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure here," he informed the media following the defeat, after they had questioned his appetite for anything resembling a title fight. "So the motivation is there to attempt to flip the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the dreadful start to the season being endured by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his men could typically be anticipated to get away with 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 Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have added the investment and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the SPL equation. As well as investing £10m during the off-season, the Brighton owner has provided the club exclusive use of his highly confidential data-driven Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to discover hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a modest car. Seen at their home venue on matchday sporting a club colours, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be seen cheering each score with the gusto of a man who had almost certainly noticed the oddsmakers had massively misjudged his team's prospects of defeating the struggling title holders, and placed large bets accordingly.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said bearded team manager the head coach after his side's most recent victory, their eighth in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for those on the outside looking in. It could alter perceptions. 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 strong position, and definitely physically we look 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 is not. But the glorious, analytics-backed reality is that for the first time in many years, Scottish football might actually have a championship battle that a team besides the traditional powers can win.