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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the only unexpected aspect of Hearts' triumph over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was just how taken aback people appeared when news of the outcome and its consequences for the summit of the table emerged. Although this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which puts the Edinburgh side top of the league and a significant margin clear of their rivals, was seismic in nature, nobody who has been tracking the progress of both team this season will have been even remotely shocked by the final score.

Over the last four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish league between them, turning fitba to almost a joke in the meantime. Several matches into the present campaign it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who number Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – might just be ready to make their move while the Glasgow duo influence is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

While much of the focus in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being endured by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at Ibrox has meant that Celtic's comparatively less severe decline has been able to fester below the radar. The defending title winners have so far lost 10 points from their opening nine league games this season under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has developed the distant look of a man who can't stop consulting his schedule to find out how many days are remaining until his deal expires, and woke up this day to discover the answer is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time at the club," he told reporters following the defeat, after they had questioned his desire for anything resembling a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is present to attempt to reverse the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the horrific beginning to the campaign being experienced by Rangers, Rodgers and his players could typically be expected to get away with their own failure to start strongly, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the mix. Despite being obliged to function with a war-chest that isn't so much a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have introduced the money and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership mix. 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, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to unearth hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovak first division 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 wearing a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be seen celebrating each score with the enthusiasm of a person who had almost certainly noticed the oddsmakers had greatly underestimated his side's chances of defeating the struggling champions, and placed large bets as a result.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired team manager the head coach after his side's most recent victory, their eighth in nine league matches. "It might be for others on the outside looking in. It might change perceptions. It may confirm views that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the players have provided us. In terms of skill, we appear in a strong position, and definitely in fitness we look in a good place, so we hope it persists. Naturally, it's not a position that this club is accustomed to being in." Correct, the manager, it isn't. But the wonderful, data-driven reality is that for the first time in many years, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that a team besides Celtic or Rangers can win.