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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the sole unexpected aspect of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which surprised people seemed when reports of the result and its consequences for the top of the standings emerged. While this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Jambos top of the league and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was seismic in nature, no one who has been following the progress of either team this season will have been in the least shocked by the result.

For each of the last 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to almost a punchline in the process. Several matches into the current season it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who number Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their famous supporters – could be ready to make their move while the Old Firm iron is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

Although a lot of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the situation at their stadium has resulted in that the title holders' comparatively less severe decay has been able to worsen below the radar. The reigning champions have already dropped a considerable number from nine fixtures this season under their manager. The team's boss has developed the distant look of a man who constantly consulting his schedule to find out how many time are left until his deal ends, and woke up this day to learn the number is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time at the club," he told reporters following the loss, after they had questioned his appetite for anything resembling a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is there to attempt to flip the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the horrific beginning to the campaign being experienced by Rangers, Rodgers and his players could normally be expected to get away with their own failure to start strongly, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has joined the mix. In spite of being forced to operate with a budget that isn't so much a small portion of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have added the money and expertise of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership mix. In addition to investing £10m during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has granted the club exclusive use of his top secret analytics-based proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to unearth hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a modest car. Seen at their home venue on matchday sporting a club colours, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be observed celebrating each score with the gusto of a man who had almost certainly realized the oddsmakers had greatly misjudged his team's prospects of beating the struggling title holders, and filled his boots accordingly.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a statement win," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his side's most recent victory, their eighth win in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for others on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It might validate views that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the lads have provided us. Technically, we look in a good place, and definitely in fitness we seem in a good place, so we hope it persists. Naturally, it's not a position that this club is accustomed to being in." No, Derek, it is not. But the wonderful, analytics-backed truth is that for the initial occasion in many years, the Scottish game might genuinely have a championship battle that somebody other than Celtic or Rangers can win.