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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the sole surprising element of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was just how taken aback observers seemed when reports of the outcome and its consequences for the summit of the standings circulated. Although this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Jambos top of the league and a significant margin ahead of their rivals, was earth-shattering in scale, nobody who has been tracking the progress of either team this season will have been even remotely astonished by the result.

Over the last four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to something of a punchline in the meantime. Several matches into the present campaign it has become apparent that Hearts – who count Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – could be prepared to make their move while the Glasgow duo influence is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

While much of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being suffered by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at their stadium has meant that Celtic's comparatively less severe decay has been able to worsen unnoticed. The reigning champions have so far dropped a considerable number from their opening nine fixtures this term under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has developed the thousand-yard stare of a individual who can't stop consulting his Google calendar to see how many time are remaining until his deal expires, and awoke this morning to discover the number is 246.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure here," he informed reporters following the loss, after they had questioned his desire for anything resembling a championship battle. "So the motivation is present to attempt to reverse the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the horrific start to the season being endured by Rangers, Rodgers and his men could typically be expected to get away with their own failure to start strongly, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the fray. Despite being forced to function with a war-chest that is not just a small portion of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have added the investment and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership mix. 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 Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to unearth hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at Tynecastle on matchday wearing a club colours, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be observed cheering each goal with the gusto of a person who had almost certainly realized the bookies had greatly underestimated his side's prospects of beating the out-of-sorts champions, and placed large bets accordingly.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired team manager the head coach after his team's most recent success, their eighth win in nine league matches. "It might be for others on the outside looking in. It could alter opinions. It may confirm views that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have provided us. In terms of skill, we appear in a good place, and definitely in fitness we seem in a good place, so we hope it persists. Of course, it's not a position that the team is used 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 championship battle that somebody other than Celtic or Rangers can win.