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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the only surprising aspect of Hearts' triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was just how surprised observers seemed when news of the outcome and its consequences for the summit of the table emerged. Although this convincing victory at their home ground, which puts the Edinburgh side leading of the league and eight points clear of Celtic, was earth-shattering in nature, nobody who has been tracking the fortunes of either team this campaign will have been even remotely astonished by the final score.

Over the past four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish league between them, turning fitba to something of a punchline in the process. Several matches into the present campaign it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who number celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their famous supporters – could be ready to strike while the Glasgow duo iron is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

Although a lot of the attention in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being suffered by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the situation at their stadium has meant that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been allowed to worsen unnoticed. The reigning champions have so far lost 10 points from nine league games this season under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has developed the distant look of a individual who constantly checking his schedule to see how many time are remaining until his deal expires, and woke up this morning to learn the answer is 246.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure here," he informed the media following the loss, after they had questioned his appetite for any kind of a title fight. "Therefore the drive is present to try and flip the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the dreadful beginning to the campaign being experienced by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his players could normally be expected to escape scrutiny for their own failure to start strongly, 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 tiny fraction of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the money and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the SPL equation. As well as investing £10m during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has provided Hearts exclusive use of his highly confidential analytics-based Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to discover unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a modest car. Seen at their home venue on matchday sporting a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be observed cheering each goal 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 title holders, and placed large bets accordingly.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a statement win," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer the head coach after his side's most recent victory, their eighth win in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for others on the periphery. It could alter perceptions. 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. In terms of skill, we look in a good place, and certainly physically we look in a good place, so long may that continue. Of course, this is not a situation that this club is accustomed to being in." No, the manager, it is not. But the wonderful, analytics-backed truth is that for the first time in many years, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that a team other than Celtic or Rangers can win.