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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the only surprising aspect of Hearts' triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how surprised observers seemed when reports of the outcome and its consequences for the summit of the standings circulated. While this convincing victory at their home ground, which puts the Jambos top of the table and eight points ahead of their rivals, was seismic in scale, nobody who has been tracking the fortunes of both squad this campaign will have been in the least astonished by the result.

For each of the past four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish football between them, turning fitba to almost a punchline in the meantime. Several matches into the present campaign it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who number celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – might just be prepared to make their move while the Glasgow duo iron is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

Although a lot of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being endured by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the situation at Ibrox has meant that the title holders' comparatively less severe decay has been allowed to worsen below the radar. The reigning champions have so far dropped 10 points from nine fixtures this term under their manager. The Celtic manager has developed the distant look of a man who constantly checking his Google calendar to see how many days are remaining until his deal expires, and woke up this day to learn the answer is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in all my time at the club," he told reporters following the defeat, after they had doubted his appetite for anything resembling a title fight. "So the motivation is there to try and flip the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the horrific start to the campaign being experienced by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his men could normally be expected to get away with their own inability to start strongly, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the fray. In spite of 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 Tony Bloom to the SPL equation. As well as investing £10m during the summer, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts exclusive use of his top secret data-driven Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to discover hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a modest car. Spotted at Tynecastle on matchday sporting a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be seen cheering each goal with the gusto of a man who had likely noticed the oddsmakers had massively misjudged his side's prospects of beating the out-of-sorts title holders, and placed large bets accordingly.

COACH'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired team manager the head coach after his side's most recent success, their eighth in nine outings. "It might be for those on the periphery. 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 lads have provided us. Technically, we look in a strong position, and certainly in fitness we seem in a good place, so we hope it persists. Naturally, this is not a situation that this club is used to being in." No, Derek, it isn't. But the wonderful, analytics-backed truth is that for the initial occasion in many years, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that a team besides the traditional powers can claim.