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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the only unexpected element of Hearts' victory over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which surprised observers appeared when news of the outcome and its impact for the top of the table emerged. Although this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which puts the Edinburgh side top of the league and a significant margin ahead of Celtic, was earth-shattering in scale, nobody who has been tracking the fortunes of both squad this season will have been even remotely shocked by the final score.

Over the last four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish league between them, reducing fitba to something of a joke in the meantime. Several matches into the present campaign it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – might just be ready to strike while the Glasgow duo iron is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

While a lot of the attention in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being endured by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at Ibrox has meant that the title holders' slightly less terminal decay has been allowed to worsen below the radar. The defending title winners have so far dropped a considerable number from nine league games this term under their manager. The Celtic manager has acquired the distant look of a individual who constantly consulting his Google calendar to see how many time are left until his deal ends, and awoke this morning to discover the answer is 246.

"I've never worked harder in all my time at the club," he informed the media following the loss, after they had questioned his desire for any kind of a championship battle. "So the motivation is there to attempt to flip the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the horrific start to the campaign being experienced by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his players could normally be expected to get away with their own inability to start strongly, but this year an capital city challenger has entered the fray. Despite being obliged to operate with a war-chest that is not just a small portion of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have added the investment and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership mix. As well as putting in ten million pounds during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has provided Hearts sole use of his top secret analytics-based Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to unearth hidden talents from Walsall, 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 Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be seen celebrating each score with the enthusiasm of a person who had likely realized the oddsmakers had greatly underestimated his team's chances of defeating the out-of-sorts title holders, and filled his boots as a result.

COACH'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his side's most recent success, their eighth win in nine league matches. "It might be for others on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It might validate views that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the lads have provided us. In terms of skill, we appear in a good place, and certainly in fitness we seem in a good place, so long may that continue. Naturally, this is not a situation that this club is used to being in." No, Derek, it is not. But the wonderful, data-driven truth is that for the first time in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a championship battle that a team besides the traditional powers can claim.