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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the only unexpected aspect of Heart of Midlothian's victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was just how surprised observers seemed when news of the outcome and its consequences for the summit of the table circulated. Although this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which puts the Edinburgh side leading of the table and a significant margin ahead of their rivals, was earth-shattering in scale, nobody who has been tracking the fortunes of both squad this campaign will have been even remotely astonished by the final score.

For each of the last 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish league between them, turning fitba to almost a punchline in the process. Several matches into the current campaign it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who number Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their famous supporters – might just be ready to strike while the Glasgow duo influence is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

Although much of the focus in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being suffered by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at their stadium has meant that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been allowed to fester below the radar. The reigning champions have already dropped 10 points from their opening nine league games this season under their manager. The team's boss has acquired the distant look of a man who constantly consulting his schedule to see how many time are left until his deal expires, and awoke this day to learn the number is 246.

"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. "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 beginning to the campaign being experienced by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his players could normally be expected to escape scrutiny for their own failure to roar out of the traps, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the fray. In spite of being forced to operate with a budget that isn't so much a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have introduced the investment and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the SPL mix. As well as putting in £10m during the off-season, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts exclusive use of his highly confidential data-driven proprietary scouting player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to discover unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a modest car. Spotted at Tynecastle on matchday wearing a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be seen celebrating each score with the gusto of a person who had likely realized the bookies had massively underestimated his team's chances of beating the out-of-sorts champions, and placed large bets as a result.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a statement win," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer the head coach after his side's latest success, their eighth in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for others on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It might validate opinions that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the players have provided us. Technically, we look in a good place, and certainly 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, the manager, it isn't. But the glorious, analytics-backed truth is that for the initial occasion in ages, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that a team other than the traditional powers can win.