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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the sole unexpected element of Heart of Midlothian's victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was just how taken aback observers appeared when reports of the result and its consequences for the summit of the table circulated. While this convincing victory at their home ground, which puts the Edinburgh side top of the table and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was seismic in nature, no one who has been following the fortunes of both team this campaign will have been even remotely astonished by the final score.

For each of the last four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have carved up 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 Hearts – who number celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – could be prepared to make their move while the Glasgow duo influence is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

Although much of the attention in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the situation at Ibrox has resulted in that the title holders' comparatively less severe decay has been able to worsen below the radar. The reigning champions have so far dropped 10 points from nine league games this season under their manager. The team's boss has developed the thousand-yard stare of a man who constantly consulting his schedule to see how many time are remaining until his contract ends, and woke up this day to learn the number is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure at the club," he told reporters following the defeat, after they had questioned his desire for anything resembling a championship battle. "So the motivation is present to try and reverse the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the dreadful start to the campaign being experienced by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his men could typically be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own failure to roar out of the traps, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the fray. In spite of being forced to operate with a war-chest that is not just a small portion of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have added the investment and expertise of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership equation. As well as putting in ten million pounds during the summer, the Brighton owner has provided the club sole use of his highly confidential data-driven Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to discover unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at their home venue on matchday sporting a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be seen celebrating each score with the gusto of a person who had almost certainly realized the bookies had massively misjudged his side's prospects of defeating the struggling champions, and placed large bets as a result.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a statement win," said bearded team manager Derek McInnes after his team's most recent success, their eighth in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for those on the outside looking in. 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 appear in a good place, and certainly in fitness we look in a good place, so we hope it persists. Naturally, it's not a position that this club is accustomed to being in." No, the manager, it is not. But the wonderful, analytics-backed truth is that for the first time in many years, the Scottish game might genuinely have a title race that somebody other than Celtic or Rangers can win.