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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the sole surprising aspect of Heart of Midlothian's victory over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was just how taken aback observers appeared when news of the outcome and its consequences for the summit of the table circulated. While this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Edinburgh side top of the table and a significant margin ahead of their rivals, was earth-shattering in scale, no one who has been tracking the progress of either squad this season will have been in the least astonished by the result.

For each of the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish league between them, reducing the beautiful game to almost a punchline in the meantime. Several matches into the current campaign it has become clear that Hearts – who count celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – could be ready to make their move while the Old Firm influence is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

Although much of the focus in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being suffered by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at Ibrox has meant that the title holders' comparatively less severe decline has been able to fester below the radar. The defending title winners have already dropped a considerable number from their opening nine fixtures this term under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has developed the distant look of a man who can't stop consulting his Google calendar to see how many time are remaining until his contract expires, and awoke this day to discover the answer is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure at the club," he told the media following the loss, after they had doubted his appetite for any kind of a title fight. "So the motivation is there to attempt to reverse the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the horrific start to the season being experienced by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his men could normally be expected to get away with their own inability to start strongly, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the fray. Despite being obliged to operate with a budget that is not just a small portion of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have added the investment and expertise of a renowned businessman to the SPL equation. In addition to putting in ten million pounds during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has provided the club exclusive use of his highly confidential data-driven proprietary scouting player identification system.

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 Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at their home venue on Sunday sporting a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be seen celebrating each goal with the gusto of a man who had almost certainly realized the bookies had greatly underestimated his side's prospects of beating the out-of-sorts champions, and filled his boots as a result.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said the facial-haired team manager the head coach after his team's most recent success, their eighth win in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for those on the outside looking in. It could alter perceptions. It may confirm views that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have given us. Technically, we appear in a strong position, and certainly in fitness we look in a good place, so long may that continue. Of course, this is not a situation that the team is accustomed to being in." Correct, Derek, it is not. But the glorious, data-driven reality is that for the initial occasion in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a championship battle that somebody other than the traditional powers can win.