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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the sole surprising aspect of Heart of Midlothian's victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was just how taken aback people appeared when news of the result and its consequences for the top of the table emerged. Although this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which leaves the Jambos leading of the table and eight points ahead of their rivals, was seismic in scale, no one who has been following the progress of either squad this season will have been in the least shocked by the final score.

For each of the last 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish league between them, turning the beautiful game to almost a joke in the meantime. Several matches into the present season it has become clear that Hearts – who count celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – could be ready to strike while the Glasgow duo iron is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

While much of the attention in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being suffered by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at their stadium has meant that the title holders' comparatively less severe decay has been allowed to fester below the radar. The reigning champions have so far dropped a considerable number from their opening nine fixtures this season under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has acquired the distant look of a individual who constantly consulting his Google calendar to find out how many days are left until his deal expires, and woke up this day to discover the number is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure at the club," he informed reporters following the defeat, after they had doubted his appetite for any kind of a title fight. "So the motivation 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 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. Despite being obliged to operate with a budget that is not just a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have introduced the money and expertise of a renowned businessman to the SPL equation. In addition to investing £10m during the off-season, the Brighton owner has provided the club exclusive use of his top secret data-driven Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to unearth hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a modest car. Spotted at Tynecastle on matchday wearing a club colours, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be observed celebrating each goal with the gusto of a person who had likely noticed the oddsmakers had massively misjudged his team's prospects of beating the struggling title holders, and filled his boots as a result.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said bearded Hearts gaffer the head coach after his team's latest victory, their eighth in nine outings. "It might be for others on the periphery. It might change opinions. It might validate views that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the lads have given us. In terms of skill, we look in a good place, and certainly physically we look in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Naturally, this is not a situation that this club is used to being in." Correct, the manager, it isn't. But the wonderful, analytics-backed reality is that for the first time in many years, the Scottish game might genuinely have a championship battle that somebody besides Celtic or Rangers can win.