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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the sole unexpected aspect of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which surprised observers seemed when news of the result and its impact for the summit of the table circulated. While this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which puts the Jambos leading of the league and a significant margin clear of their rivals, was earth-shattering in scale, nobody who has been tracking the fortunes of both squad this season will have been in the least astonished by the result.

Over the past four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish league between them, reducing fitba to something of a punchline in the meantime. Several matches into the current season it has become clear that Hearts – who number celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – could be prepared to strike while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

Although much of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at Ibrox has resulted in that the title holders' slightly less terminal decay 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 season under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has developed the distant look of a individual who can't stop checking his Google calendar to find out how many time are remaining until his contract expires, and woke up this morning to learn the answer is 246.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure here," he informed reporters following the defeat, after they had questioned his desire for anything resembling a championship battle. "So the motivation is present to try and reverse the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the dreadful start to the campaign being experienced by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his men could normally be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own inability to start strongly, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the fray. In spite of being obliged to operate with a war-chest that is not just a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have added the investment and expertise of a renowned businessman to the SPL equation. As well as investing ten million pounds during the off-season, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts exclusive use of his top secret data-driven proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to discover 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 mid-range family saloon. Seen at their home venue on matchday sporting a club colours, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be observed celebrating each score with the gusto of a person who had likely noticed the bookies had greatly misjudged his side's prospects of defeating the out-of-sorts champions, and placed large bets as a result.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said bearded Hearts gaffer the head coach after his team's most recent victory, their eighth in nine league matches. "It might be for others on the outside looking in. It might change perceptions. It might validate opinions that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the players have provided us. In terms of skill, we look in a strong position, and certainly in fitness we look in a good place, so we hope it persists. Naturally, this is not a situation that the team is used to being in." Correct, Derek, it isn't. But the wonderful, data-driven reality is that for the first time in ages, Scottish football might actually have a championship battle that somebody other than Celtic or Rangers can claim.