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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the only surprising aspect of Hearts' victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which taken aback people seemed when news of the outcome and its consequences for the top of the table emerged. While this 3-1 win at their home ground, which leaves 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 squad this campaign will have been even remotely shocked by the final score.

Over the last four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish league between them, turning the beautiful game to something of a punchline in the process. Several matches into the present campaign it has become clear that Hearts – who number celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – could be prepared to strike while the Old Firm iron is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

Although a lot of the attention in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being endured by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at their stadium has meant that the title holders' comparatively less severe decay has been able to fester below the radar. The reigning champions have so far dropped a considerable number from nine league games this term under their manager. The Celtic manager has acquired the distant look of a individual who constantly consulting his Google calendar to find out how many time are left until his contract ends, and awoke this morning to discover the number is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure at the club," he told reporters following the defeat, after they had questioned his desire for any kind of a title fight. "Therefore the drive is there to try and reverse the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the horrific beginning to the season being experienced by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his men could typically be anticipated to get away with their own inability to start strongly, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the mix. In spite of being obliged to operate with a budget that isn't so much a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have added the money and expertise of a renowned businessman to the SPL mix. In addition to putting in ten million pounds during the summer, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts sole use of his top secret analytics-based Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to unearth unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at Tynecastle on Sunday sporting a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be seen celebrating each score with the enthusiasm of a person who had almost certainly noticed the bookies had greatly misjudged his side's prospects of beating the struggling champions, and placed large bets accordingly.

COACH'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said bearded Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his team's most recent victory, their eighth win in nine league matches. "It might be for others on the periphery. It might change opinions. It may confirm opinions that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the lads have given us. In terms of skill, we appear in a good place, and certainly physically we seem in a good place, so long may that continue. Naturally, it's not a position that the team is accustomed to being in." Correct, Derek, it is not. But the wonderful, data-driven truth is that for the first time in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that somebody other than the traditional powers can claim.