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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the only unexpected aspect of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was just how taken aback observers appeared when reports of the outcome and its impact for the summit of the table emerged. Although this convincing victory at their home ground, which puts the Edinburgh side leading of the table and a significant margin ahead of Celtic, was seismic in nature, nobody who has been tracking the progress of either squad this campaign will have been in the least astonished by the final score.

Over the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish league between them, turning the beautiful game to almost a joke in the process. Several matches into the current campaign it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their famous supporters – could be prepared to strike while the Glasgow duo iron is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

Although a lot of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at their stadium has meant that Celtic's comparatively less severe decline has been able to worsen unnoticed. The defending title winners have so far lost a considerable number from nine league games this season under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a individual who can't stop consulting his Google calendar to see how many time are remaining until his contract expires, and woke up this morning to discover the number is over two hundred.

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

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the horrific start to the season being experienced by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his players could normally be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own inability to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has joined the fray. Despite being obliged to operate with a war-chest that is not just a small portion of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have added the money and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership equation. As well as putting in £10m during the off-season, the Brighton owner has granted the club exclusive use of his top secret analytics-based proprietary scouting player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to unearth hidden talents 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. Spotted at Tynecastle on Sunday wearing a club colours, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be observed celebrating each goal with the gusto of a man who had likely realized the oddsmakers had greatly misjudged his team's chances of beating the out-of-sorts title holders, and filled his boots accordingly.

COACH'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a statement win," said bearded team manager the head coach after his side's latest victory, their eighth win in nine league matches. "It might be for others on the outside looking in. It could alter opinions. It may confirm opinions that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the lads have provided us. In terms of skill, we look in a good place, and certainly in fitness we look in a good place, so long may that continue. Of course, this is not a situation that this club is used to being in." Correct, the manager, it isn't. But the glorious, analytics-backed truth is that for the first time in ages, Scottish football might actually have a title race that somebody besides Celtic or Rangers can claim.