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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the only unexpected aspect of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which surprised people appeared when news of the result and its consequences for the top of the table emerged. Although this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which puts the Edinburgh side top of the league and a significant margin ahead of their rivals, was seismic in nature, no one who has been tracking the fortunes of both team this campaign will have been even remotely shocked by the result.

For each of the past four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish football between them, reducing the beautiful game to something of a joke in the process. Several matches into the current season it has become apparent that Hearts – who number Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their famous supporters – could be ready to make their move while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' 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 circumstances at Ibrox has meant that the title holders' comparatively less severe decline has been able to fester below the radar. The defending title winners have already dropped 10 points from their opening nine fixtures this season under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has acquired the distant look of a individual who can't stop checking his schedule to see how many days are remaining until his contract expires, and awoke this day to discover the number is over two hundred.

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

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the dreadful beginning to the campaign being experienced by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his players could typically be expected to escape scrutiny for their own failure to start strongly, but this year an capital city challenger has entered the mix. Despite being forced to function with a budget that is not just a small portion of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have added the money and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the SPL equation. As well as investing £10m during the off-season, the Brighton owner has provided the club sole use of his highly confidential data-driven proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to discover hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a modest car. Spotted at Tynecastle on matchday sporting a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be seen celebrating each goal with the enthusiasm of a man who had likely noticed the oddsmakers had greatly misjudged his side's chances of defeating the struggling champions, and placed large bets accordingly.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said bearded Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his side's latest victory, their eighth in nine outings. "It might be for those on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It may confirm views that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the players have provided us. Technically, we look in a good place, and certainly in fitness we look in a good place, so we hope it persists. Of course, it's not a position that the team is accustomed to being in." No, the manager, it isn't. But the wonderful, analytics-backed reality is that for the first time in many years, the Scottish game might genuinely have a title race that a team besides the traditional powers can win.