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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the sole unexpected aspect of Heart of Midlothian's victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how taken aback people appeared when news of the result and its impact for the top of the table circulated. Although this convincing victory at their home ground, which puts the Edinburgh side top of the table and eight points clear of their rivals, was seismic in scale, no one who has been following the fortunes of both squad this campaign will have been in the least shocked by the result.

Over the past four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish league between them, reducing the beautiful game to something of a joke in the meantime. Several matches into the current season it has become clear that Hearts – who count Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – could be prepared to strike while the Glasgow duo influence is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

Although a lot of the attention in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being suffered by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at Ibrox has meant that Celtic's slightly less terminal decay has been allowed to worsen below the radar. The defending title winners have already dropped a considerable number from nine fixtures this term under their manager. The Celtic manager has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a man who constantly checking his schedule to find out how many days are left until his contract ends, and awoke this morning to learn the answer is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time at the club," he told reporters following the defeat, after they had doubted his appetite for any kind of a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is there to try and reverse 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 endured by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his men could typically be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own failure to roar out of the traps, but this year an capital city challenger has joined the fray. Despite being forced to operate with a war-chest that is not just a small portion of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have added the money and expertise of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership mix. As well as investing £10m during the off-season, the Brighton owner has provided the club exclusive use of his top secret data-driven Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to discover hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at their home venue on Sunday wearing a club colours, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be seen celebrating each goal with the enthusiasm of a man who had almost certainly noticed the bookies had greatly underestimated his team's chances of beating the out-of-sorts title holders, and filled his boots as a result.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a statement win," said bearded Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his side's most recent success, their eighth win in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for those on the outside looking in. It could alter opinions. It might validate 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 strong position, and definitely physically we seem in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Of course, it's not a position that this club is accustomed to being in." No, the manager, it isn't. But the wonderful, data-driven truth is that for the initial occasion in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that a team other than the traditional powers can claim.