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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the only surprising aspect of Hearts' triumph over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was just how taken aback people seemed when news of the outcome and its consequences for the summit of the standings circulated. Although this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Jambos top of the table and a significant margin clear of their rivals, was seismic in scale, no one who has been tracking the fortunes of both team this campaign will have been even remotely shocked by the result.

Over the last 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish league between them, turning fitba to something of a joke in the process. Several matches into the present campaign it has become clear that Hearts – who number 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

Although a lot of the attention in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at Ibrox has meant that Celtic's slightly less terminal decay has been able to worsen below the radar. The defending title winners have so far lost 10 points from their opening nine fixtures this season under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has developed the thousand-yard stare of a individual who can't stop checking his schedule to see how many time are left until his deal ends, and awoke this morning to learn the number is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure here," he informed reporters following the defeat, after they had doubted his appetite for anything resembling a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is present to try and flip the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the dreadful beginning to the season being experienced by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his men could normally be expected to escape scrutiny for their own inability to start strongly, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the fray. In spite of being obliged to function with a budget that is not just a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have added the money and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership mix. As well as putting in £10m during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has provided the club sole use of his highly confidential data-driven proprietary scouting player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to unearth hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at Tynecastle on Sunday sporting a club colours, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be seen celebrating each goal with the gusto of a person who had likely noticed the bookies had greatly misjudged his team's prospects of beating the struggling title holders, and placed large bets accordingly.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a statement win," said bearded Hearts gaffer the head coach after his side's most recent success, their eighth 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're really pleased with what the lads have provided us. In terms of skill, we appear in a good place, and definitely in fitness we look in a good place, so long may that continue. Naturally, it's not a position that this club is used to being in." Correct, Derek, it is not. But the glorious, analytics-backed truth is that for the first time in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that a team besides the traditional powers can claim.