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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the sole unexpected element of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was just how taken aback people appeared when news of the result and its consequences for the summit of the table emerged. Although this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which puts the Jambos top of the league and a significant margin ahead of Celtic, was earth-shattering in nature, nobody who has been following the progress of either squad this season will have been even remotely shocked by the result.

For each of the last 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to something of a joke in the meantime. Several matches into the present season it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – could be ready to make their move while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

While much of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being endured by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at Ibrox has meant that the title holders' slightly less terminal decline has been able to fester below the radar. The defending title winners have so far lost 10 points from their opening nine league games this season under their manager. The Celtic manager has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a man who constantly checking his schedule to find out how many days are remaining until his contract ends, and woke up this day to learn the answer is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure here," he informed reporters following the loss, after they had doubted his appetite for anything resembling a title fight. "Therefore the drive is present to attempt to flip the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the horrific beginning to the season being experienced by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his men could typically be expected to get away with their own inability to start strongly, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the mix. In spite of being obliged to function with a war-chest that is not just a small portion of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the money and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership equation. In addition to investing ten million pounds during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has granted Hearts sole use of his top secret analytics-based proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to unearth hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at their home venue on matchday wearing a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be observed cheering each score with the gusto of a person who had likely realized the bookies had massively misjudged his team's prospects of beating 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 team's latest success, their eighth win in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for others on the periphery. It might change opinions. It may confirm views that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the players have provided us. Technically, we look in a good place, and certainly physically we seem in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Naturally, it's not a position that the team is accustomed to being in." No, Derek, it isn't. But the wonderful, data-driven reality is that for the initial occasion in many years, the Scottish game might genuinely have a title race that a team besides Celtic or Rangers can win.