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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the sole unexpected element of Hearts' victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which surprised people appeared when news of the result and its consequences for the top of the standings emerged. Although this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which leaves the Edinburgh side top of the table and eight points ahead of their rivals, was seismic in nature, no one who has been following the fortunes of either squad this season will have been in the least shocked by the result.

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 fitba to something of a punchline in the process. Several matches into the current season it has become apparent that Hearts – who count Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – could be prepared to make their move while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

While much of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being endured by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at Ibrox has resulted in that Celtic's slightly less terminal decay has been able to fester below the radar. The reigning champions have already lost 10 points from nine league games this term under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has developed the distant look of a individual who constantly checking his Google calendar to see how many days are remaining until his contract expires, and woke up this day to learn the answer is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure at the club," he told reporters following the defeat, after they had questioned his desire for anything resembling a title fight. "So the motivation is present to try and flip the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the horrific start to the campaign being experienced by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his men could normally be anticipated to get away with their own failure to roar out of the traps, 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 tiny fraction of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have introduced the investment and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership equation. As well as investing ten million pounds during the off-season, the Brighton owner has provided the club exclusive use of his highly confidential analytics-based Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to discover hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a modest car. Spotted at their home venue on matchday wearing a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be seen cheering each score with the gusto of a person who had likely realized the bookies had greatly underestimated his team's chances of defeating the struggling title holders, and placed large bets accordingly.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer the head coach after his side's most recent success, their eighth win in nine league matches. "It might be for others on the outside looking in. It might change opinions. It might validate views that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the players have given us. In terms of skill, we look in a good place, and definitely physically we seem in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Naturally, this is not a situation that the team is used to being in." No, the manager, it isn't. But the glorious, analytics-backed truth is that for the first time in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that somebody other than Celtic or Rangers can win.