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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the only surprising element of Hearts' victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how taken aback people appeared when news of the result 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 eight points clear of their rivals, was earth-shattering in scale, no one who has been following the fortunes of either team this season will have been even remotely astonished by the final score.

For each of the past four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish football between them, reducing the beautiful game to something of a punchline in the meantime. Several matches into the present season it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who number celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their famous supporters – could be prepared to strike while the Old Firm influence is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

While a lot of the focus in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being suffered by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the situation at Ibrox has resulted in that the title holders' slightly less terminal decline has been able to fester below the radar. The reigning champions have so far lost 10 points from nine fixtures this term under their manager. The Celtic manager has acquired the distant look of a man who constantly consulting his schedule to find out how many days are remaining until his deal expires, and awoke this day to learn the answer is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time here," he informed the media following the loss, after they had doubted his appetite for anything resembling a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is there to attempt to flip the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the dreadful beginning to the season being experienced by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his men could normally be expected to get away with their own failure to roar out of the traps, but this year an capital city challenger has joined the fray. In spite of being obliged to function with a war-chest that isn't so much a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have added the investment and expertise of a renowned businessman to the SPL equation. In addition to putting in ten million pounds during the off-season, the Brighton owner has granted the club exclusive use of his highly confidential data-driven proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to unearth unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a modest car. Spotted at Tynecastle on Sunday sporting a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be seen cheering each score with the gusto of a person who had likely noticed the oddsmakers had greatly misjudged his team's chances of beating the out-of-sorts champions, and filled his boots as a result.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a statement win," said the facial-haired team manager the head coach after his team's most recent success, their eighth win in nine outings. "It might be for others on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It might validate opinions that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the players have given us. Technically, we appear in a strong position, and certainly in fitness we look in a good place, so we hope it persists. Of course, this is not a situation that the team is accustomed to being in." Correct, Derek, it isn't. But the glorious, data-driven reality is that for the initial occasion in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a championship battle that somebody besides Celtic or Rangers can win.