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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the only unexpected element of Hearts' victory over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was just how surprised observers seemed when reports of the outcome and its consequences for the top of the table emerged. While this 3-1 win at their home ground, which leaves the Jambos top of the league and a significant margin ahead of their rivals, was earth-shattering in nature, nobody who has been tracking the fortunes of either squad this campaign will have been even remotely astonished by the result.

Over the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish league between them, reducing the beautiful game to almost a joke in the meantime. Several matches into the current campaign it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who number celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – might just be prepared to make their move while the Old Firm iron is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

While much 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 resulted in that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been able to fester below the radar. The defending title winners have already dropped a considerable number from nine fixtures this term under their manager. The Celtic manager has developed the thousand-yard stare of a man who constantly checking his schedule to see how many time are remaining until his deal expires, and awoke this day to discover the number is 246.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure at the club," he told the media following the loss, after they had doubted his appetite for anything resembling a championship battle. "So the motivation is present to attempt to reverse the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the dreadful beginning to the season being experienced by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his men could typically be expected to escape scrutiny for their own inability to start strongly, but this year an capital city challenger has entered the fray. Despite being obliged to function with a war-chest that isn't so much a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have introduced the money and expertise of a renowned businessman to the SPL mix. In addition to putting in £10m during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has provided the club exclusive use of his top secret analytics-based Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to discover unpolished gems 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 Tynecastle on matchday sporting a club colours, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be seen cheering each score with the enthusiasm of a man who had likely noticed the bookies had massively underestimated his side's chances of beating the struggling title holders, and placed large bets accordingly.

COACH'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said bearded Hearts gaffer the head coach after his side's latest success, their eighth in nine league matches. "It might be for others on the periphery. It could alter 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. Technically, we look in a strong position, and definitely in fitness we look in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Naturally, this is not a situation that this club is accustomed to being in." Correct, Derek, it is not. But the wonderful, data-driven reality is that for the first time in many years, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that somebody besides Celtic or Rangers can claim.