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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the sole surprising element of Heart of Midlothian's victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which surprised people seemed when news of the outcome and its consequences for the top of the table circulated. While this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which puts the Edinburgh side leading of the table and eight points ahead of their rivals, was earth-shattering in nature, nobody who has been following the progress of either squad this campaign will have been even remotely astonished by the result.

Over the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish football between them, reducing fitba to almost a punchline in the process. Several matches into the present campaign it has become clear that Hearts – who number Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – might just be prepared to make their move while the Old Firm influence is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

Although a lot of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being suffered by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the situation at their stadium has meant that Celtic's comparatively less severe decline has been allowed to worsen below the radar. The reigning champions have already lost a considerable number from their opening nine league games this season under their manager. The Celtic manager has developed the thousand-yard stare of a man who can't stop consulting his Google calendar to find out how many time are remaining until his contract ends, and awoke this morning to discover the answer is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure here," he told reporters following the loss, after they had doubted his desire for any kind of a championship battle. "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

Given the dreadful start to the campaign being endured by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his men could typically be expected to escape scrutiny for their own failure to roar out of the traps, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has joined 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, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the money and expertise of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership equation. In addition to investing £10m during the off-season, the Brighton owner has provided the club exclusive use of his highly confidential analytics-based Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to unearth hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a modest car. Spotted at Tynecastle on Sunday wearing a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be observed cheering each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had almost certainly realized the bookies had greatly misjudged his team's chances of defeating the out-of-sorts title holders, and placed large bets 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 latest success, their eighth in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for others on the periphery. It might change opinions. It might validate opinions that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the players have provided us. Technically, we look in a strong position, and definitely physically we look in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Naturally, this is not a situation that the team is accustomed to being in." Correct, the manager, it isn't. But the glorious, data-driven truth is that for the first time in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a championship battle that somebody other than the traditional powers can win.