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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the only surprising aspect of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which taken aback people appeared when news of the result and its impact for the summit of the standings circulated. Although this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Jambos top of the league and eight points clear of Celtic, was earth-shattering in scale, no one who has been following the progress of either team this campaign will have been in the least shocked by the final score.

For each of the last four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish league between them, turning the beautiful game to something of a joke in the meantime. Several matches into the present season it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who number Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – could be ready to strike while the Glasgow duo iron is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

While a lot of the focus in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the situation at their stadium has resulted in that Celtic's comparatively less severe decline has been allowed to worsen below the radar. The defending title winners have so far lost a considerable number from nine league games this term under their manager. The Celtic manager has developed the distant look of a individual who constantly checking his Google calendar to find out how many time are remaining until his contract expires, and woke up this morning to learn the number is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure at the club," he informed reporters following the defeat, after they had doubted his appetite for any kind of a championship battle. "So the motivation is present to try and reverse the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the dreadful beginning to the campaign being endured by Rangers, Rodgers and his players could typically be expected to escape scrutiny for their own inability to roar out of the traps, but this year an capital city challenger has entered the mix. Despite being forced to function with a budget that isn't so much a small portion of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the money and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership equation. In addition to investing £10m during the summer, the Brighton owner has provided Hearts exclusive use of his highly confidential analytics-based proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga 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 lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at their home venue on matchday sporting a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be seen celebrating each goal with the gusto of a person who had likely realized the bookies had massively underestimated his team's chances of beating the struggling title holders, and filled his boots accordingly.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said bearded team manager Derek McInnes after his side's latest victory, their eighth in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for those on the outside looking in. It might change opinions. It may confirm 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 good place, and definitely in fitness we look in a good place, so long may that continue. Naturally, this is not a situation that this club is used to being in." Correct, Derek, it is not. But the wonderful, analytics-backed reality is that for the initial occasion in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that a team besides the traditional powers can win.