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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the sole surprising aspect of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was just how taken aback observers appeared when reports of the result and its consequences for the top of the table emerged. Although this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which leaves the Jambos leading of the league and eight points clear of Celtic, was earth-shattering in scale, nobody who has been following the progress of either squad this campaign will have been in the least astonished by the final score.

For each of the last four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to almost a joke in the process. Several matches into the current season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – might just be prepared to make their move while the Glasgow duo iron is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

While a lot of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being suffered by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the situation at their stadium has meant that Celtic's comparatively less severe decay has been allowed to fester unnoticed. The defending title winners have so far dropped 10 points from nine fixtures this term under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has developed the thousand-yard stare of a individual who constantly consulting his schedule to find out how many days are remaining until his contract ends, and awoke this day to learn the number is 246.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure here," he informed reporters following the defeat, after they had questioned his desire for any kind of a title fight. "Therefore the drive is there to attempt to flip the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the dreadful beginning to the campaign being experienced by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his men could normally be expected to get away with their own inability to roar out of the traps, but this year an capital city challenger has entered the fray. In spite of being obliged to operate with a war-chest that is not just a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have introduced the investment and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership mix. As well as investing ten million pounds during the summer, the Brighton owner has granted the club sole use of his top secret analytics-based proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to discover hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a modest car. Seen at their home venue on matchday sporting a club colours, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be seen celebrating each score with the enthusiasm of a man who had almost certainly noticed the bookies had massively underestimated his side's chances of defeating the out-of-sorts title holders, and placed large bets as a result.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer the head coach after his side's latest victory, their eighth win in nine league matches. "It might be for those on the periphery. It could alter perceptions. It may confirm opinions that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the players have given us. Technically, we look in a good place, and definitely in fitness we seem in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Naturally, this is not a situation that this club is accustomed to being in." Correct, Derek, it is not. But the glorious, data-driven truth is that for the initial occasion in many years, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that a team besides the traditional powers can claim.