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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the sole surprising element of Heart of Midlothian's victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how surprised people seemed 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 league and eight points clear of Celtic, was seismic in scale, no one who has been tracking the progress of either team this campaign will have been in the least astonished by the result.

Over the last four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish league between them, reducing fitba to almost a punchline in the meantime. Several matches into the current season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who number celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – might just be ready to strike while the Glasgow duo iron is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

Although a lot of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the situation at their stadium has meant that the title holders' slightly less terminal decline has been allowed to worsen unnoticed. The defending title winners have so far lost a considerable number from their opening nine fixtures this term under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has developed the distant look of a man who constantly checking his schedule to find out how many days are left until his contract expires, and awoke this morning to learn the answer is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time here," he told the media following the loss, after they had doubted his appetite for anything resembling a championship battle. "So the motivation is there to try and reverse the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the horrific start to the campaign being experienced by Rangers, Rodgers and his players could normally be anticipated to get away with their own failure to start strongly, but this year an capital city challenger has entered the mix. Despite being obliged to function with a budget that isn't so much a small portion of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have added the money and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership mix. As well as investing ten million pounds during the off-season, the Brighton owner has granted the club sole use of his top secret analytics-based Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to unearth hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a modest car. Seen at their home venue on matchday sporting a club colours, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be observed cheering each score with the enthusiasm of a person who had likely realized the oddsmakers had greatly misjudged his side's chances of beating the out-of-sorts champions, and filled his boots accordingly.

COACH'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said bearded team manager Derek McInnes after his team's latest success, their eighth win in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for those on the outside looking in. It might change 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. In terms of skill, we look in a strong position, and definitely physically we look in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Of course, this is not a situation that the team is accustomed to being in." No, the manager, it is not. But the glorious, data-driven truth is that for the initial occasion in many years, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that a team besides Celtic or Rangers can win.