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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the sole surprising aspect of Heart of Midlothian's victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how surprised people seemed when reports of the outcome and its impact for the summit of the standings circulated. While this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Edinburgh side top of the table and a significant margin ahead of Celtic, was earth-shattering in nature, no one who has been following the progress of either squad this season will have been in the least astonished by the final score.

Over the past four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish league between them, reducing the beautiful game to something of a punchline in the process. Several matches into the present campaign it has become apparent that Hearts – who number Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their famous supporters – might just be prepared to make their move while the Old Firm influence is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

While a lot of the focus in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being endured by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the situation at Ibrox has resulted in that Celtic's slightly less terminal decay has been allowed to fester below the radar. The reigning champions have already lost a considerable number from nine league games this season under their manager. The Celtic manager has developed the distant look of a man who constantly checking his Google calendar to see how many days are left until his contract ends, and woke up this morning to learn the answer is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time here," he told reporters following the loss, after they had questioned his desire for anything resembling a championship battle. "So the motivation is present to attempt to flip the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the dreadful start to the campaign being experienced by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his players could normally be anticipated to get away with their own failure to roar out of the traps, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the fray. Despite being forced to function with a budget that isn't so much a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the money and expertise of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership mix. As well as investing £10m during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has provided the club sole use of his top secret data-driven Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to discover unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a modest car. Spotted at Tynecastle on matchday sporting a club colours, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be seen cheering each goal with the gusto of a person who had likely noticed the bookies had greatly underestimated his team's chances of beating the out-of-sorts title holders, and placed large bets as a result.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said bearded team manager the head coach after his team's latest victory, their eighth in nine outings. "It might be for those on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It might validate opinions that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the lads have given us. In terms of skill, we appear in a good place, and certainly physically we seem in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Of course, this is not a situation that the team is used to being in." No, Derek, it isn't. But the wonderful, analytics-backed reality is that for the first time in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a championship battle that a team besides Celtic or Rangers can claim.