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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the only unexpected element of Heart of Midlothian's victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which surprised observers appeared when reports of the result and its consequences for the summit of the table emerged. Although this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which leaves the Jambos leading of the league and a significant margin ahead of their rivals, was seismic in scale, no one who has been following the progress of both team this campaign will have been even remotely astonished by the result.

Over the last 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish football between them, reducing fitba to something of a joke in the meantime. Several matches into the current campaign it has become clear that Hearts – who number Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their famous supporters – could be ready to strike while the Glasgow duo iron is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

Although much of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the situation at their stadium has resulted in that the title holders' slightly less terminal decline has been able to worsen unnoticed. The reigning champions have so far lost a considerable number from their opening nine league games this term under their manager. The team's boss has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a man who can't stop checking his Google calendar to see how many time are remaining until his deal expires, and awoke this day to learn the answer is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure at the club," he told the media following the defeat, after they had doubted his desire for any kind of a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is present to attempt to flip the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the dreadful start to the campaign being endured by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his men could typically be expected to escape scrutiny for their own inability to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the mix. In spite of being forced to function with a budget that isn't so much a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have introduced the money and expertise of a renowned businessman to the SPL mix. As well as putting in £10m during the off-season, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts exclusive use of his top secret analytics-based proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to discover hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at Tynecastle on Sunday sporting a club colours, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be observed celebrating each goal with the enthusiasm of a man who had likely realized the oddsmakers had massively underestimated his side's chances of defeating the out-of-sorts champions, and filled his boots accordingly.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired team manager the head coach after his team's most recent success, their eighth in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for those on the periphery. It could alter opinions. It may confirm views that there's a fine line. 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 in fitness we look in a good place, so long may that continue. Naturally, this is not a situation that the team is used to being in." Correct, the manager, it is not. But the glorious, analytics-backed truth is that for the initial occasion in many years, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that a team other than the traditional powers can win.