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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the only unexpected element of Hearts' triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which surprised observers appeared when news of the outcome and its consequences for the summit of the standings circulated. Although this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which leaves the Jambos leading of the table and eight points ahead of Celtic, was seismic in scale, no one who has been following the progress of either team this campaign will have been in the least shocked by the final score.

For each of the past 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish league between them, reducing the beautiful game to something of a joke in the process. Several matches into the present campaign it has become clear that Hearts – who number Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their famous supporters – could be prepared to make their move while the Glasgow duo influence is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

While much of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at their stadium has meant that the title holders' comparatively less severe decline has been allowed to fester unnoticed. The defending title winners have so far lost 10 points from their opening nine league games this term under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has developed the thousand-yard stare of a individual who can't stop consulting his schedule to see how many time are remaining until his deal expires, and woke up this morning to learn the number is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time here," he told reporters following the loss, after they had questioned his desire for anything resembling a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is there to try and flip the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the horrific start to the season being experienced by Rangers, Rodgers and his men could typically be expected to escape scrutiny for their own failure to start strongly, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the fray. In spite of being forced to operate with a war-chest that is not just a small portion of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the investment and expertise of Tony Bloom to the SPL mix. As well as putting in £10m during the off-season, the Brighton owner has provided Hearts exclusive use of his highly confidential data-driven proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to discover hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at their home venue on matchday wearing a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be observed cheering each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had almost certainly noticed the oddsmakers had massively underestimated his side's prospects of beating the struggling title holders, and placed large bets as a result.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his side's most recent success, their eighth win in nine league matches. "It might be for those on the outside looking in. It could alter opinions. It might validate opinions that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the lads have given us. Technically, we appear in a good place, and certainly in fitness we look in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Of course, it's not a position that this club is accustomed to being in." No, the manager, it is not. But the glorious, analytics-backed reality is that for the initial occasion in many years, Scottish football might actually have a championship battle that a team other than the traditional powers can win.