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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the only unexpected element of Heart of Midlothian's victory over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was just how surprised people appeared when news of the result and its impact for the top of the standings emerged. While this convincing victory at their home ground, which leaves the Jambos leading of the table and eight points ahead of their rivals, was seismic in scale, nobody who has been following the fortunes of both team this campaign will have been even remotely shocked by the result.

For each of the last four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish league between them, turning fitba to something of a joke in the process. Several matches into the current campaign it has become clear that Hearts – who count Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – could be prepared to strike while the Old Firm iron is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

Although a lot of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being endured by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at their stadium has resulted in that the title holders' comparatively less severe decay has been able to fester unnoticed. The reigning champions have so far dropped 10 points from nine league games this season under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has developed the distant look of a man who can't stop checking his Google calendar to see how many days are left until his contract expires, and woke up this day to learn the answer is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure here," he informed the media following the loss, after they had questioned his appetite for any kind of a title fight. "Therefore the drive is there to try and reverse the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the horrific start to the campaign being endured by Rangers, Rodgers and his players could typically be anticipated to get away with their own failure to roar out of the traps, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the mix. Despite being obliged to operate with a budget that is not just a small portion of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the money and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership mix. In addition to putting in ten million pounds during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has granted Hearts exclusive use of his top secret data-driven proprietary scouting player identification system.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to discover unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at their home venue on matchday wearing a club colours, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be observed celebrating each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had likely realized the oddsmakers had massively misjudged his side's prospects of beating the struggling champions, and filled his boots as a result.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer the head coach after his team's most recent victory, their eighth win in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for others on the outside looking in. It could alter perceptions. It may confirm views that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the players have given us. Technically, we look in a strong position, and definitely in fitness we seem in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Of course, this is not a situation that this club is used to being in." Correct, the manager, it is not. But the glorious, analytics-backed reality is that for the first time in many years, Scottish football might actually have a title race that somebody besides the traditional powers can win.