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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the sole unexpected aspect of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was just how surprised observers appeared when reports of the outcome and its impact for the summit of the table circulated. Although this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which leaves the Jambos leading of the league and eight points clear of Celtic, was seismic in scale, no one who has been tracking the fortunes of either team this campaign will have been even remotely astonished by the final score.

Over the past four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to almost a punchline in the process. Several matches into the present season 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 strike while the Old Firm iron is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

Although a lot of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at their stadium has meant that Celtic's comparatively less severe decay has been able to worsen below the radar. The reigning champions have so far dropped 10 points from their opening nine league games this term under their manager. The team's boss has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a individual who can't stop checking his schedule to see how many days are left until his contract expires, and woke up this day to discover the answer is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure at the club," he informed reporters following the loss, after they had doubted his appetite 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

Considering the dreadful beginning to the season being experienced by Rangers, Rodgers and his players could typically be expected to get away with their own failure to start strongly, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the fray. Despite being forced to operate with a war-chest that isn't so much a small portion of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have introduced the investment and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the SPL 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 a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to unearth hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday sporting a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be seen cheering each goal with the enthusiasm of a man who had almost certainly realized the oddsmakers had greatly underestimated his side's prospects of beating the out-of-sorts title holders, and filled his boots accordingly.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said bearded Hearts gaffer the head coach after his side's most recent success, their eighth in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for others on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It might validate opinions that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the lads have provided us. In terms of skill, we appear in a strong position, and definitely physically we look in a good place, so long may that continue. Of course, this is not a situation that the team is used to being in." Correct, the manager, it is not. But the wonderful, analytics-backed reality is that for the first time in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a championship battle that a team besides the traditional powers can claim.