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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the sole surprising element of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how surprised observers appeared when reports of the result and its impact for the summit of the table circulated. While this convincing victory at their home ground, which puts the Jambos top of the league and a significant margin clear of their rivals, was seismic in scale, nobody who has been following the fortunes of both team this season will have been even remotely astonished by the final score.

For each of the last 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish football between them, reducing the beautiful game to almost a punchline in the process. Several matches into the current season it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – could be prepared to strike while the Glasgow duo iron is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

While much of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at their stadium has resulted in that Celtic's comparatively less severe decay has been allowed to worsen below the radar. The reigning champions have so far lost a considerable number from their opening nine fixtures this season under their manager. The team's boss has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a man who can't stop consulting his schedule to find out how many days are remaining until his contract ends, and awoke this day to discover the answer is 246.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure at the club," he told reporters following the loss, after they had doubted his appetite for anything resembling a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is present to attempt to flip the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the dreadful beginning to the campaign being endured by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his players could typically be expected to get away with their own failure to roar out of the traps, but this year an capital city challenger has entered the mix. In spite of being obliged to operate with a war-chest that isn't so much a small portion of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have added the investment and expertise of a renowned businessman to the SPL equation. As well as investing £10m during the off-season, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts sole use of his highly confidential data-driven Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to unearth hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a modest car. Seen at their home venue on matchday wearing a club colours, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be seen celebrating each score with the gusto of a man who had almost certainly realized the oddsmakers had massively misjudged his team's chances of beating the struggling champions, and placed large bets accordingly.

COACH'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his side's most recent victory, their eighth win in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for those on the periphery. It might change opinions. It might validate opinions that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the players have provided us. In terms of skill, we appear in a strong position, and definitely physically we look in a good place, so long may that continue. Of course, this is not a situation that this club is used to being in." Correct, the manager, it isn't. But the glorious, analytics-backed reality is that for the initial occasion in ages, the Scottish game might genuinely have a title race that somebody besides Celtic or Rangers can claim.