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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 the extent to which taken aback people seemed when news of the result and its consequences for the summit of the table emerged. While this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Edinburgh side leading of the league and eight points ahead of Celtic, was seismic in scale, nobody who has been tracking the fortunes of both squad this season will have been in the least shocked by the final score.

For each of the last four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish league between them, turning the beautiful game to something of a punchline in the process. Several matches into the present campaign it has become apparent that Hearts – who number Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – could be prepared to make their move while the Glasgow duo influence is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

Although much of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at their stadium has meant that Celtic's slightly less terminal decay has been allowed to worsen below the radar. The defending title winners have already lost a considerable number from nine fixtures this term under their manager. The Celtic manager has developed the distant look of a man who can't stop consulting his schedule to see how many days are remaining until his deal ends, and woke up this morning to discover the answer is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time here," he told reporters following the defeat, after they had doubted his desire for any kind of a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is present to try and reverse the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the dreadful start to the season being experienced by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his men could normally be anticipated to get away with their own failure to start strongly, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the mix. Despite being obliged to function with a budget that is not just a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have added the investment and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the SPL mix. As well as investing ten million pounds during the off-season, the Brighton owner has granted the club exclusive use of his top secret data-driven Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to unearth hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a modest car. Spotted at Tynecastle on matchday wearing a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be observed cheering each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had almost certainly realized the bookies had massively underestimated his side's chances of defeating the out-of-sorts title holders, and filled his boots as a result.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer the head coach after his side's latest victory, their eighth win in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for others on the outside looking in. It might change perceptions. It may confirm views that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the lads have given us. Technically, we appear in a strong position, and certainly physically we seem in a good place, so we hope it persists. Of course, it's not a position that this club is used to being in." No, the manager, it is not. But the wonderful, analytics-backed truth is that for the first time in many years, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that a team other than Celtic or Rangers can win.