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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the only unexpected element of Heart of Midlothian's victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which surprised people seemed when reports of the outcome and its impact for the top of the standings emerged. Although this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which puts the Edinburgh side leading of the table and a significant margin ahead of Celtic, was seismic in nature, no one who has been following the fortunes of either team this campaign will have been in the least shocked by the result.

For each of the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish football between them, reducing the beautiful game to something of a punchline in the meantime. Several matches into the current campaign it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – might just be ready to strike while the Glasgow duo iron is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

While much of the focus in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at their stadium has meant that Celtic's comparatively less severe decay has been able to fester below the radar. The defending title winners have already dropped a considerable number from their opening nine fixtures this season under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has acquired the distant look of a man who constantly checking his schedule to find out how many time are remaining until his deal ends, and awoke this morning to discover the number is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure at the club," he told the media following the defeat, after they had questioned his desire for any kind of a title fight. "So the motivation is present to attempt to flip the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the horrific start to the campaign being endured by Rangers, Rodgers and his men could typically be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own failure to start strongly, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has joined 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 expertise of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership equation. As well as investing £10m during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has granted Hearts sole use of his top secret data-driven Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to discover hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a modest car. Seen at their home venue on matchday wearing a club colours, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be observed celebrating each score with the gusto of a man who had likely realized the oddsmakers had massively misjudged his team's chances of beating the out-of-sorts champions, and filled his boots as a result.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his team's most recent success, their eighth win in nine outings. "It might be for those on the periphery. It might change opinions. It may confirm views that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the lads have given us. Technically, we appear in a strong position, and certainly physically we seem in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Of course, this is not a situation that this club is accustomed to being in." No, the manager, it isn't. But the glorious, data-driven reality is that for the first time in ages, the Scottish game might genuinely have a championship battle that somebody other than the traditional powers can claim.