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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the only surprising aspect of Hearts' triumph over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which surprised observers seemed when news of the result and its consequences for the top of the table emerged. Although this convincing victory at their home ground, which leaves the Jambos top of the league and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was earth-shattering in nature, no one who has been following the fortunes of both squad this season will have been even remotely shocked by the final score.

Over the past four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish football between them, reducing the beautiful game to almost a joke in the process. Several matches into the current season it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – could be prepared to strike while the Old Firm iron is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

While a lot of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being suffered by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at Ibrox has meant that the title holders' slightly less terminal decline has been allowed to worsen below the radar. The reigning champions have so far lost 10 points from nine league games this term under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has developed the thousand-yard stare of a individual who can't stop checking his Google calendar to see how many days are left until his contract ends, and awoke this day to discover the answer is 246.

"I've never worked harder in all my time here," he told the media following the loss, after they had doubted his appetite for any kind of a championship battle. "So the motivation is present to attempt to flip the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the dreadful beginning to the campaign being experienced by Rangers, Rodgers and his men could typically be expected to get away with their own inability to start strongly, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the fray. Despite being obliged to operate with a budget that is not just a small portion of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the money and expertise of Tony Bloom to the SPL equation. In addition to putting in ten million pounds during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has granted the club sole use of his highly confidential data-driven proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to discover unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at their home venue on Sunday sporting a club colours, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be seen celebrating each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had almost certainly noticed the oddsmakers had greatly underestimated his team's chances of beating the out-of-sorts title holders, and placed large bets accordingly.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said bearded Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his side's latest victory, their eighth win in nine league matches. "It might be for those on the periphery. It could alter perceptions. It may confirm views that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the players have given us. Technically, we look in a strong position, and definitely physically we look in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Of course, it's not a position that this club is used to being in." Correct, the manager, it is not. But the wonderful, data-driven truth is that for the first time in many years, Scottish football might genuinely have a championship battle that a team besides Celtic or Rangers can claim.