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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the only surprising aspect of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how surprised observers appeared when reports of the result and its impact for the summit of the standings emerged. Although this convincing victory at their home ground, which puts the Jambos top of the table and a significant margin clear of their rivals, was earth-shattering in scale, nobody who has been following the fortunes of both squad this campaign will have been in the least shocked by the result.

For each of the last four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish football between them, reducing the beautiful game to almost a joke in the process. Several matches into the current season it has become clear that Hearts – who number celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their famous supporters – could be prepared to strike while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

Although much of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the situation at Ibrox has resulted in that the title holders' slightly less terminal decline has been allowed to fester below the radar. The defending title winners have already dropped a considerable number from nine league games this season under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a man who can't stop checking his Google calendar to find out how many time are left until his contract ends, and awoke this morning to discover the answer is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure at the club," he told reporters following the loss, after they had questioned his appetite for any kind of a title fight. "Therefore the drive is present to try and reverse the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the dreadful beginning to the season being experienced by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his players could typically be anticipated to get away with their own inability to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has entered the mix. In spite of being obliged to function 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 mix. In addition to investing £10m during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has granted Hearts exclusive use of his highly confidential data-driven Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to unearth unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovak first division 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 wearing a club colours, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be seen celebrating each score with the gusto of a person who had almost certainly realized the bookies had massively misjudged his side's chances of defeating the out-of-sorts title holders, and filled his boots accordingly.

COACH'S REACTION

"I don't think 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. "It might be for others on the periphery. It could alter opinions. It may confirm views that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the players have provided us. Technically, we appear in a good place, and certainly in fitness we look in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Of course, it's not a position that this club is used to being in." No, the manager, it is not. But the glorious, analytics-backed reality is that for the first time in ages, the Scottish game might genuinely have a championship battle that a team other than Celtic or Rangers can win.