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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the only unexpected element of Hearts' triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how taken aback people appeared when reports of the outcome and its impact for the summit of the table circulated. Although this 3-1 win at their home ground, which leaves the Jambos top of the league and eight points clear of Celtic, was earth-shattering in nature, no one who has been tracking the progress of either team this campaign will have been in the least astonished by the final score.

Over the past 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish football between them, reducing fitba to almost a punchline in the meantime. Several matches into the present campaign it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – might just be prepared to make their move while the Old Firm iron is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

While much of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being suffered by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at their stadium has meant that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been able to worsen unnoticed. The defending title winners have already lost 10 points from nine fixtures this season under their manager. The Celtic manager has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a individual 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.

"I've never worked harder in all my time here," he told the media following the defeat, after they had questioned his desire for any kind of a title fight. "Therefore the drive is present to attempt to flip the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the dreadful start to the campaign being endured by Rangers, Rodgers and his men 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 entered the fray. In spite of being obliged to function 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 Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership mix. In addition to putting in £10m during the summer, the Brighton owner has provided the club exclusive use of his top secret data-driven Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to unearth hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at Tynecastle on Sunday sporting a club colours, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be observed cheering each score with the gusto of a man who had almost certainly realized the bookies had massively misjudged his team's prospects of defeating the out-of-sorts champions, and filled his boots as a result.

COACH'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said bearded Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his side's most recent victory, their eighth in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for others on the periphery. It could alter perceptions. It might validate views that there's a fine line. 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 certainly in fitness we look in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Of course, this is not a situation that this club is accustomed to being in." No, the manager, it isn't. But the wonderful, analytics-backed reality is that for the initial occasion in many years, the Scottish game might actually have a championship battle that somebody other than Celtic or Rangers can claim.