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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the sole surprising element of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how surprised observers seemed when news of the outcome and its impact for the summit of the standings circulated. While this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which leaves the Jambos leading of the league and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was earth-shattering in scale, nobody who has been tracking the fortunes of either squad this season will have been even remotely astonished by the final score.

Over the last 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish league between them, turning fitba to something of a punchline in the process. Several matches into the present campaign it has become clear that Hearts – who count celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their famous supporters – could be prepared to strike while the Old Firm influence is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

Although a lot of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being suffered by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the situation at Ibrox has resulted in that Celtic's comparatively less severe decay has been allowed to fester unnoticed. The defending title winners have already dropped a considerable number from their opening nine league games this season under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a individual who can't stop consulting his Google calendar to see how many days are left until his contract expires, and awoke this morning to learn the number is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time at the club," he informed the media following the loss, after they had doubted his desire for anything resembling a title fight. "Therefore the drive is present to try and reverse the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the horrific start to the campaign being experienced by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his men could typically be expected to get away with their own inability to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has joined the fray. Despite being forced to operate with a war-chest that is not just a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have added the investment and expertise of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership mix. In addition to investing ten million pounds during the summer, the Brighton owner has provided the club sole use of his highly confidential analytics-based proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to unearth unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a modest car. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday wearing a club colours, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be observed cheering each goal with the gusto of a man who had almost certainly realized the bookies had greatly underestimated his team's chances of defeating the out-of-sorts champions, and filled his boots as a result.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired team manager Derek McInnes after his team's most recent success, their eighth win in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for those on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It may confirm views that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the players have given us. Technically, we look in a good place, and certainly physically we look in a good place, so we hope it persists. Naturally, it's not a position that the team is used to being in." No, the manager, it is not. But the glorious, data-driven reality is that for the initial occasion in many years, the Scottish game might genuinely have a title race that somebody besides Celtic or Rangers can claim.