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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the only unexpected aspect of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was just how surprised people seemed when reports of the result and its consequences for the top of the table emerged. While this convincing victory at their home ground, which puts the Edinburgh side leading of the league and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was earth-shattering in scale, nobody who has been following the fortunes of both team this season will have been even remotely astonished by the final score.

For each of the past four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish league between them, reducing fitba to almost a punchline in the meantime. Several matches into the present campaign it has become clear that Hearts – who count celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their famous supporters – could be ready to strike while the Glasgow duo iron is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

Although a lot of the attention in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at their stadium has meant that Celtic's slightly less terminal decay has been allowed to worsen unnoticed. The reigning champions have so far lost 10 points from nine fixtures this season under their manager. The Celtic manager has acquired the distant look of a man who can't stop checking his Google calendar to find out how many days are left until his contract expires, and woke up this day to discover the answer is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time at the club," he informed reporters following the loss, after they had questioned his appetite for any kind of a championship battle. "So the motivation is present to try and reverse the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the horrific start to the campaign being experienced by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his players could typically be anticipated to get away with their own failure to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has entered the mix. Despite being forced to function with a budget that is not just a small portion of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have introduced the money and expertise of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership equation. As well as putting in ten million pounds during the off-season, the Brighton owner has provided Hearts exclusive use of his highly confidential data-driven Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to discover hidden talents from Walsall, 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 Tynecastle on Sunday wearing a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be seen celebrating each goal with the gusto of a man who had likely noticed the oddsmakers had greatly misjudged his side's prospects of beating the struggling title holders, and filled his boots as a result.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired team manager the head coach after his side's latest success, their eighth win in nine outings. "It might be for others on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It might validate views that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the players have provided us. Technically, we look in a good place, and certainly in fitness we look in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Of course, this is not a situation that this club is used to being in." No, the manager, it is not. But the glorious, data-driven truth is that for the first time in many years, the Scottish game might actually have a championship battle that a team other than Celtic or Rangers can claim.