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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the sole unexpected element of Hearts' triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how taken aback people appeared when reports of the result and its consequences for the summit of the table circulated. Although this convincing victory at their home ground, which puts the Jambos leading of the league and eight points ahead of Celtic, was earth-shattering in nature, nobody who has been tracking the progress of both squad this campaign will have been even remotely astonished by the final score.

For each of the past 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish football between them, turning fitba to almost a punchline in the meantime. Several matches into the current season it has become apparent that Hearts – who count Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – might just be ready to strike while the Old Firm influence is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

Although a lot of the attention 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' comparatively less severe decay has been able to fester unnoticed. The defending title winners have already dropped a considerable number from their opening nine league games this season under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a man who can't stop consulting his Google calendar to see how many time are left until his deal expires, and woke up this morning to discover the answer is 246.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure at the club," he told the media following the loss, after they had questioned his desire for any kind of a title fight. "Therefore the drive is present to try and reverse the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the horrific beginning to the campaign being experienced by Rangers, Rodgers and his men could normally be anticipated to get away with their own inability to roar out of the traps, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the fray. Despite being obliged 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 introduced the money and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership mix. As well as putting in £10m during the off-season, the Brighton owner has provided the club sole use of his top secret data-driven proprietary scouting player identification system.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to discover hidden talents from an English lower-league side, 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 Tynecastle on matchday sporting a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be observed celebrating each score with the enthusiasm of a man who had likely noticed the oddsmakers had massively underestimated his team's prospects of beating the struggling champions, and filled his boots as a result.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said bearded team manager the head coach after his side's most recent success, their eighth in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is 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 lads have given us. Technically, we look in a strong position, and certainly in fitness 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." Correct, the manager, it isn't. But the wonderful, data-driven reality is that for the first time in many years, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that a team besides the traditional powers can win.