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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the sole surprising element of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which surprised observers appeared when news of the result and its consequences for the top of the table circulated. While this convincing victory at their home ground, which puts the Jambos top of the table and eight points ahead of Celtic, was earth-shattering in scale, nobody who has been tracking the progress of both team this campaign will have been even remotely shocked by the final score.

For each of the past four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish football between them, reducing the beautiful game to almost a punchline in the meantime. Several matches into the present campaign it has become clear that Hearts – who count Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – might just be prepared to strike while the Glasgow duo influence is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

Although much of the focus in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at Ibrox has resulted in that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been able to fester unnoticed. The reigning champions have already lost a considerable number from their opening nine league games this season under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has developed the distant look of a individual who constantly checking his Google calendar to find out how many time are remaining until his deal ends, and awoke this morning to learn the number is 246.

"I've never worked harder in all my time here," he informed reporters following the defeat, after they had questioned his desire for any kind of a championship battle. "So the motivation is there to try and reverse the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the horrific beginning to the season being endured by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his men could typically be anticipated to get away with their own inability to start strongly, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the fray. In spite of being forced to function with a budget that isn't so much a small portion of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have added the money and expertise of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership mix. As well as putting in ten million pounds during the off-season, the Brighton owner has granted the club sole use of his highly confidential data-driven proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to unearth hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at their home venue on matchday sporting a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be observed celebrating each goal with the gusto of a man who had likely noticed the oddsmakers had greatly underestimated his side's chances of defeating the struggling title holders, and placed large bets as a result.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said bearded Hearts gaffer the head coach after his team's most recent success, their eighth in nine outings. "It might be for those on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It may confirm opinions that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the lads have given us. Technically, we appear in a good place, and definitely physically we look in a good place, so long may that continue. Of course, it's not a position that the team is accustomed to being in." No, Derek, it isn't. But the glorious, data-driven reality is that for the first time in many years, the Scottish game might genuinely have a title race that a team besides Celtic or Rangers can win.