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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the sole unexpected aspect of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which surprised observers seemed when news of the result and its consequences for the top of the table circulated. While this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which leaves the Edinburgh side top of the table and eight points ahead of Celtic, was earth-shattering in nature, nobody who has been tracking the fortunes of either squad this season will have been in the least astonished by the result.

Over the past 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish league between them, turning the beautiful game to almost a joke in the process. Several matches into the present campaign it has become apparent that Hearts – who count Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their famous supporters – could be prepared to make their move while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

While a lot of the focus in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at their stadium has resulted in that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been able to fester below the radar. The defending title winners have so far dropped a considerable number from nine fixtures this season under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has developed the thousand-yard stare of a man who constantly checking his schedule to find out how many time are left until his contract ends, and awoke this day to learn the answer is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure here," he told the media following the loss, after they had questioned his appetite for anything resembling a title fight. "So the motivation is there to attempt to reverse the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the horrific start to the season being experienced by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his players could normally be anticipated to get away with their own failure to start strongly, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has entered the fray. Despite being obliged to operate with a budget that isn't so much a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have added the money and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership equation. As well as putting in £10m during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has granted the club exclusive use of his top secret data-driven Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to unearth hidden talents from an English lower-league side, 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 wearing a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be observed cheering each score with the enthusiasm of a person who had likely realized the oddsmakers had massively underestimated his side's chances of defeating the struggling title holders, and filled his boots as a result.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said bearded Hearts gaffer the head coach after his team's most recent success, their eighth in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for those on the outside looking in. It might change perceptions. It might validate views that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the lads have given us. In terms of skill, we look in a strong position, and definitely in fitness we look in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Naturally, it's not a position that the team is used to being in." Correct, Derek, it is not. But the wonderful, data-driven truth is that for the first time in ages, the Scottish game might genuinely have a championship battle that somebody other than the traditional powers can claim.