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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the only unexpected element of Heart of Midlothian's victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was just how taken aback people seemed when news of the outcome and its impact for the summit of the table emerged. While this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which leaves 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 progress of both team this season will have been in the least shocked by the result.

Over the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish league between them, reducing fitba to almost a punchline in the process. Several matches into the current campaign it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – could be prepared to make their move while the Old Firm iron is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

While much of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being endured by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at Ibrox has resulted in that the title holders' comparatively less severe decay has been allowed to worsen unnoticed. The reigning champions have already dropped a considerable number from their opening nine fixtures this season under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a man who can't stop checking his schedule to find out how many time are remaining until his contract expires, and woke up this morning to learn the answer is 246.

"I've never worked harder in all my time here," he informed the media following the defeat, after they had questioned his desire for any kind of a championship battle. "So the motivation is there to attempt to reverse the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the horrific start to the campaign being experienced by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his men could typically be expected to get away with their own inability to roar out of the traps, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the fray. In spite of being obliged to operate with a war-chest that is not just a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the investment and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership equation. As well as investing £10m during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has provided Hearts exclusive use of his highly confidential analytics-based proprietary scouting player identification system.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to discover hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a modest car. Seen at Tynecastle on Sunday wearing a club colours, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be observed cheering each score with the gusto of a person who had almost certainly noticed the bookies had greatly misjudged his side's prospects of beating the out-of-sorts title holders, and placed large bets as a result.

COACH'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired team manager Derek McInnes after his side's latest victory, their eighth in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for those on the periphery. It could alter perceptions. It might validate opinions that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the players have given us. Technically, we appear in a good place, and definitely in fitness 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." No, the manager, it is not. But the glorious, data-driven reality is that for the first time in ages, Scottish football might genuinely have a championship battle that a team other than the traditional powers can claim.