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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the sole surprising element of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which surprised observers appeared when news of the result and its impact for the summit of the table emerged. Although this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which puts the Jambos leading of the league and eight points clear of Celtic, was earth-shattering in nature, no one who has been following the progress of both team this campaign will have been even remotely shocked by the final score.

For each of the past four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish league between them, reducing the beautiful game to almost a punchline in the process. Nine games into the current campaign it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – could be prepared to strike while the Glasgow duo influence is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

Although a lot of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being suffered by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the situation at Ibrox has meant that the title holders' comparatively less severe decline has been allowed to fester unnoticed. The reigning champions have so far lost 10 points from nine league games this season under their manager. The Celtic manager has acquired the distant look of a individual who can't stop consulting his schedule to see how many time are remaining until his contract expires, and woke up this morning to learn the answer is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure at the club," he informed the media following the loss, after they had doubted his appetite for any kind of a title fight. "So the motivation is present to attempt to flip 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 experienced by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his men could typically be anticipated to get away with their own inability to start strongly, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the fray. Despite being forced to function with a budget that isn't so much a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have introduced the money and expertise of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership equation. In addition to investing £10m during the summer, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts exclusive use of his highly confidential data-driven Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

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 modest car. Seen at Tynecastle on Sunday sporting a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be seen cheering each goal with the gusto of a person who had almost certainly realized the bookies had greatly misjudged his side's chances of defeating the out-of-sorts champions, and placed large bets accordingly.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a statement win," said bearded Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his team's most recent victory, their eighth win in nine outings. "It might be for those on the outside looking in. It might change opinions. It might validate views that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the players have given us. Technically, we look in a good place, and certainly in fitness we seem in a good place, so we hope it persists. Of course, it's not a position that the team is used to being in." No, the manager, it isn't. But the wonderful, analytics-backed reality is that for the initial occasion in many years, Scottish football might actually have a championship battle that a team other than Celtic or Rangers can win.