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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the only unexpected element of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which surprised people appeared when reports of the result and its impact for the top of the table circulated. Although this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which leaves the Jambos leading of the table and a significant margin ahead of their rivals, was seismic in scale, nobody who has been tracking the fortunes of both team this campaign will have been in the least shocked by the result.

For each of the last four decades, 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 punchline in the process. Several matches into the current campaign it has become apparent that Hearts – who number Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – might just be prepared to strike while the Glasgow duo iron is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

Although much of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being suffered by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at their stadium has meant that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been allowed to fester unnoticed. The defending title winners have so far dropped 10 points from their opening nine league games this term under their manager. The Celtic manager has developed the thousand-yard stare of a man who constantly checking his Google calendar to see how many days are left until his contract expires, and awoke this day to discover the answer is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure at the club," he informed reporters following the defeat, after they had questioned his appetite for any kind of a championship battle. "So the motivation is present to attempt to reverse the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the horrific beginning to the season being endured by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his players could typically be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own inability to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the mix. In spite of being forced to operate with a war-chest that isn't so much a small portion of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have introduced the money and expertise of Tony Bloom to the SPL mix. In addition to putting in £10m during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has provided Hearts sole use of his highly confidential data-driven proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to unearth hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a modest car. Spotted at their home venue on Sunday wearing a club colours, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be seen celebrating each goal with the gusto of a man who had almost certainly realized the bookies had greatly misjudged his side's prospects of beating the out-of-sorts title holders, and placed large bets as a result.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a statement win," said the facial-haired team manager 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 might change opinions. It might validate views that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the lads have provided us. Technically, we look in a strong position, and definitely in fitness we look in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Naturally, it's not a position that the team is accustomed to being in." Correct, Derek, it is not. But the wonderful, analytics-backed truth is that for the first time in ages, the Scottish game might genuinely have a championship battle that somebody other than the traditional powers can win.