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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the sole surprising element of Heart of Midlothian's victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was just how surprised observers appeared when news of the result and its impact for the top of the table emerged. While this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which puts the Edinburgh side leading of the league and a significant margin clear of their rivals, was seismic in nature, no one who has been following the fortunes of either team this campaign will have been in the least astonished 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 something of a joke in the process. Several matches into the current campaign it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – might just 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 disastrous season being endured by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at their stadium has meant that the title holders' slightly less terminal decline has been allowed to fester unnoticed. The reigning champions have so far lost a considerable number from nine fixtures this season under their manager. The team's boss has developed the distant look of a individual who constantly checking his Google calendar to find out how many time are left until his deal ends, and woke up this day to learn the number is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time at the club," he informed the media following the loss, after they had doubted his desire for anything resembling a title fight. "Therefore the drive is there to try and flip the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the horrific beginning to the season being experienced by Rangers, Rodgers and his men could normally be expected to escape scrutiny for their own failure to start strongly, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the fray. Despite being forced to operate with a war-chest that is not just a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have introduced the investment and expertise of Tony Bloom to the SPL mix. As well as investing ten million pounds during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has granted Hearts exclusive use of his highly confidential data-driven Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to unearth unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at their home venue on matchday sporting a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be observed celebrating each score with the enthusiasm of a person who had likely noticed the oddsmakers had massively underestimated his team's prospects of defeating the out-of-sorts title holders, and placed large bets as a result.

COACH'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said the facial-haired team manager Derek McInnes after his team's most recent victory, their eighth win in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for those on the periphery. It might change opinions. It may confirm opinions that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the lads have given us. Technically, we look in a good place, and definitely physically we seem in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Of course, this is not a situation that the team is used to being in." Correct, the manager, it isn't. But the glorious, data-driven reality is that for the first time in ages, Scottish football might actually have a title race that a team besides Celtic or Rangers can claim.