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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the only unexpected element of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which taken aback people appeared when news of the outcome and its consequences for the top of the standings circulated. Although this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which leaves the Edinburgh side leading of the table and a significant margin ahead of Celtic, was earth-shattering in scale, no one who has been tracking the progress of both team this campaign will have been even remotely shocked by the result.

For each of the last four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish league between them, turning fitba to something of a punchline in the meantime. Several matches into the current season it has become apparent that Hearts – who number Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – might just be ready to strike while the Glasgow duo iron is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

Although a lot of the focus in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the situation at Ibrox has meant that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been allowed to worsen below the radar. The defending title winners have already lost 10 points from their opening nine fixtures this season under their manager. The team's boss has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a man who constantly checking his Google calendar to see how many time are left until his contract ends, and woke up this morning to learn the answer is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in all my time here," he informed reporters following the loss, after they had questioned his desire for anything resembling a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is there to try and flip the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the dreadful beginning to the campaign being endured by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his men could typically be expected to get away with their own inability to roar out of the traps, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the fray. Despite being forced to function with a budget that is not just a small portion of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the money and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership mix. In addition to putting in ten million pounds during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has granted Hearts sole use of his top secret data-driven Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has enabled 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 Sunday sporting a club colours, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be seen cheering each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had almost certainly realized the oddsmakers had massively misjudged his team's chances of beating the struggling title holders, and filled his boots accordingly.

COACH'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired team manager Derek McInnes after his team's most recent success, their eighth in nine league matches. "It might be for those on the outside looking in. It could alter perceptions. It may confirm views that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the lads have given us. Technically, we look in a strong position, and definitely physically we look in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Of course, this is not a situation that this club is accustomed to being in." Correct, the manager, it is not. But the wonderful, analytics-backed reality is that for the initial occasion in ages, Scottish football might actually have a championship battle that somebody other than Celtic or Rangers can win.