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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the only surprising element of Hearts' victory over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was just how taken aback observers seemed when news of the result and its consequences for the top of the standings circulated. While this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which puts the Jambos leading of the league 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.

Over the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish league between them, turning fitba to something of a joke in the process. Several matches into the current season it has become apparent that Hearts – who count Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – might just be prepared to make their move while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

While much of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being endured by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at Ibrox has meant that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been able to fester below the radar. The reigning champions have already lost a considerable number from nine league games this season under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has acquired the distant look of a individual who constantly checking his Google calendar to see how many time are remaining until his deal expires, and woke up this morning to learn the number is 246.

"I've never worked harder in all my time here," he told reporters following the loss, after they had doubted his appetite for any kind of a title fight. "So the motivation is there to attempt to flip the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the horrific beginning to the season being experienced by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his players could normally be anticipated to get away with their own failure to start strongly, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the mix. Despite being forced to operate with a budget that is not just a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have added the money 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 granted Hearts exclusive use of his highly confidential analytics-based proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to discover unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a modest car. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday sporting a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be observed celebrating each goal with the gusto of a person who had almost certainly noticed the oddsmakers had massively misjudged his team's chances 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 latest victory, their eighth win in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for others on the periphery. It could alter opinions. It might validate views that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have given us. Technically, we appear in a strong position, and certainly physically we seem in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Naturally, this is not a situation that the team is used to being in." No, the manager, it is not. But the wonderful, analytics-backed reality is that for the initial occasion in many years, Scottish football might actually have a championship battle that somebody other than Celtic or Rangers can win.