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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the only surprising element of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was just how surprised observers appeared when news of the outcome and its consequences for the top of the standings emerged. While this convincing victory at their home ground, which puts the Edinburgh side top of the table and eight points clear of their rivals, was earth-shattering in scale, no one who has been tracking the fortunes of either squad this season will have been in the least astonished by the result.

Over the past four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to almost a punchline in the process. Several matches into the current campaign it has become apparent that Hearts – who number celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – could be prepared to strike while the Old Firm influence is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

Although a lot of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being suffered by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at their stadium has meant that the title holders' comparatively less severe decline has been able to fester below the radar. The defending title winners have already dropped 10 points from their opening nine league games this term under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has acquired the distant look of a man who constantly consulting his schedule to see how many days are left until his deal ends, and awoke this day to discover the number is 246.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure at the club," he informed reporters following the loss, after they had doubted his desire for anything resembling a title fight. "Therefore the drive is present to attempt to flip the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the horrific beginning to the season being endured by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his men could normally be expected to escape scrutiny for their own inability to roar out of the traps, but this year an capital city challenger has entered the fray. In spite of being obliged to operate with a budget that isn't so much a small portion of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the money and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the SPL mix. In addition to putting in £10m during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has provided the club sole use of his top secret analytics-based Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to unearth unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a modest car. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday sporting a club colours, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be seen celebrating each score with the enthusiasm of a person who had almost certainly noticed the bookies had greatly misjudged his side's chances of beating the out-of-sorts champions, and placed large bets as a result.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a statement win," said bearded Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his side's most recent success, their eighth win in nine outings. "It might be for others on the periphery. It might change opinions. It may confirm opinions that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the players have given us. Technically, we appear in a good place, and certainly in fitness we seem in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Of course, this is not a situation that this club is used to being in." No, the manager, it is not. But the glorious, analytics-backed truth is that for the first time in ages, the Scottish game might genuinely have a title race that a team other than Celtic or Rangers can claim.