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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the only surprising aspect of Heart of Midlothian's victory over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which surprised people appeared when reports of the result and its consequences for the top of the table emerged. While this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which leaves the Jambos top of the league and eight points ahead of Celtic, was seismic in scale, no one who has been following the fortunes of both team this campaign will have been even remotely shocked by the final score.

Over the past four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish football between them, reducing the beautiful game to something of a punchline in the process. Several matches into the present campaign it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their famous supporters – might just be prepared to strike while the Glasgow duo iron is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

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 resulted in that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been allowed to worsen below the radar. The defending title winners have already dropped 10 points from their opening nine fixtures this season under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a individual who constantly checking his schedule to find out how many time are remaining until his deal expires, and woke up this day to learn the number is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time at the club," he told the media following the defeat, after they had questioned his desire for any kind of 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."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the horrific beginning to the season being experienced by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his men could typically be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own inability to start strongly, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the fray. Despite being forced to function with a war-chest that is not just a small portion of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the investment and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership equation. In addition to putting in ten million pounds during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has granted the club exclusive use of his top secret data-driven Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to discover unpolished gems 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 mid-range family saloon. Spotted at their home venue on matchday wearing a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be seen cheering each score with the enthusiasm of a person who had likely noticed the bookies had greatly misjudged his side's chances of beating the out-of-sorts title holders, and filled his boots accordingly.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said bearded Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his side's latest success, their eighth in nine league matches. "It might be for others on the outside looking in. It could alter opinions. It may confirm views that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the lads have provided us. Technically, we appear in a good place, and certainly physically we look in a good place, so long may that continue. Of course, this is not a situation that the team is used to being in." No, the manager, it isn't. But the glorious, data-driven truth is that for the initial occasion in many years, the Scottish game might actually have a championship battle that a team other than the traditional powers can win.