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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the only unexpected aspect of Heart of Midlothian's victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how surprised people seemed when news of the outcome and its consequences for the summit of the table emerged. While this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which leaves the Edinburgh side top of the league and eight points clear of Celtic, was earth-shattering in nature, no one who has been following the fortunes of either team this campaign will have been even remotely astonished by the final score.

Over the past 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish league between them, reducing fitba to something of a punchline in the meantime. Several matches into the current season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who number celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – could be ready to make their move while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

While 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 situation at Ibrox has meant that the title holders' comparatively less severe decline has been able to worsen below the radar. The defending title winners have so far lost a considerable number from their opening nine league games this term under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has developed the thousand-yard stare of a individual who can't stop consulting his schedule to find out how many time are remaining until his contract ends, and awoke this day to discover the number is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure at the club," he informed the media following the defeat, after they had doubted his desire for anything resembling a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is present to attempt to reverse the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the dreadful beginning to the season being endured by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his players could typically be expected to get away with their own failure to start strongly, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the fray. In spite of being forced to function with a war-chest that isn't so much a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have added the money and expertise of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership mix. In addition to investing ten million pounds during the summer, the Brighton owner has granted the club sole use of his top secret data-driven proprietary scouting player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to unearth unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a modest car. Spotted at their home venue on Sunday sporting a club colours, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be observed celebrating each goal with the gusto of a man who had almost certainly realized the bookies had massively misjudged his side's prospects of defeating the struggling title holders, and filled his boots as a result.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a statement win," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his team's most recent victory, their eighth win in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for others on the outside looking in. It might change opinions. It may confirm views that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have given us. Technically, we look in a good place, and definitely physically we look in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Of course, this is not a situation that this club is accustomed to being in." Correct, Derek, it isn't. But the wonderful, data-driven reality is that for the first time in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that somebody other than Celtic or Rangers can win.