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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the only surprising element of Hearts' triumph over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which surprised people appeared when reports of the result and its impact for the summit of the table circulated. Although this convincing victory at their home ground, which puts the Jambos leading of the table and a significant margin clear of their rivals, was earth-shattering in scale, nobody who has been following the progress of both squad this season will have been even remotely shocked by the final score.

For each of the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish league between them, turning fitba to something of a joke in the meantime. Several matches into the current campaign it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – could be ready to make their move while the Glasgow duo iron is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

While a lot of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the situation at Ibrox has meant that the title holders' comparatively less severe decay has been allowed to worsen unnoticed. The reigning champions 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 checking his schedule to find out how many time are left until his deal expires, and awoke this day to discover the answer is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in all my time at the club," he informed reporters following the defeat, after they had doubted his desire for any kind of a title fight. "So the motivation is there to try and flip the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the horrific start to the season being endured by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his players could normally be anticipated to get away with their own inability to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the fray. Despite being obliged to function with a war-chest that is not just a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the investment and expertise of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership mix. As well as putting in £10m during the summer, the Brighton owner has provided the club sole use of his top secret analytics-based proprietary scouting player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to unearth hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at their home venue on matchday sporting a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be seen celebrating each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had likely realized the bookies had massively underestimated his side's prospects of beating the struggling champions, and filled his boots accordingly.

COACH'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his team's most recent success, their eighth win in nine league matches. "It might be for those on the outside looking in. It could alter opinions. It might validate views that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the lads have provided us. Technically, we look in a good place, and definitely in fitness we seem in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Naturally, it's not a position that this club is accustomed to being in." No, Derek, it is not. But the glorious, analytics-backed reality is that for the initial occasion in many years, Scottish football might actually have a title race that a team other than the traditional powers can win.