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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the sole surprising element of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which taken aback people seemed when reports of the result and its consequences for the top of the table circulated. Although this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which leaves the Edinburgh side leading of the league and eight points ahead of their rivals, was earth-shattering in scale, nobody who has been following the progress of both team this campaign will have been in the least astonished by the result.

For each of the last four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish football between them, reducing the beautiful game to something of a joke in the meantime. Several matches into the current season it has become apparent that Hearts – who number celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion 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

Although a lot of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at their stadium has resulted in that Celtic's slightly less terminal decay has been allowed to fester below the radar. The reigning champions have already dropped a considerable number from nine league games this term under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a individual who can't stop consulting his schedule to see how many days are left until his deal expires, and woke up this morning to discover the number is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in all my time at the club," he told the media following the loss, after they had questioned his appetite for any kind of a title fight. "Therefore the drive is there to try and reverse the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the horrific beginning to the season being endured by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his players could normally be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own inability to start strongly, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the mix. Despite being forced to operate with a war-chest that is not just a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have added the investment and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership equation. As well as investing ten million pounds during the off-season, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts sole use of his top secret analytics-based proprietary scouting player identification system.

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 Norway's second division, 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 famously shrewd sports betting expert could be seen cheering each score with the gusto of a man who had likely noticed the oddsmakers had massively misjudged his team's prospects of beating the out-of-sorts champions, and filled his boots as a result.

COACH'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said bearded Hearts gaffer the head coach after his side's most recent success, their eighth win in nine outings. "It might be for those on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It may confirm views that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have provided us. In terms of skill, we look in a strong position, and certainly in fitness we seem in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Of course, it's not a position that the team is used to being in." No, the manager, it isn't. But the wonderful, analytics-backed reality is that for the first time in ages, Scottish football might actually have a title race that a team other than the traditional powers can win.