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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the only surprising element of Heart of Midlothian's victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was just how taken aback observers appeared when reports of the outcome and its impact for the top of the standings emerged. While this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Edinburgh side leading of the league and a significant margin clear of their rivals, was earth-shattering in nature, no one who has been tracking the progress of either team this season will have been in the least astonished by the final score.

For each of the past 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish league between them, turning fitba to something of a punchline in the process. Several matches into the current season it has become clear that Hearts – who number celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – might just be prepared to make their move while the Glasgow duo influence is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

While much of the attention in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being endured by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at Ibrox has resulted in that Celtic's slightly less terminal decay has been allowed to fester below the radar. The defending title winners have already lost 10 points from nine fixtures this term under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has developed the thousand-yard stare of a individual who can't stop consulting his schedule to see how many time are remaining until his contract ends, and awoke this day 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 questioned his desire for any kind of a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is there to attempt to flip the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the dreadful start to the campaign being endured by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his players could typically be anticipated to get away with their own inability to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the fray. Despite being forced to function with a war-chest that is not just a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have introduced the investment and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership mix. As well as investing £10m during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has provided Hearts sole use of his highly confidential analytics-based Jamestown Analytics 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 Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at their home venue on Sunday wearing a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be seen celebrating each score with the gusto of a man who had likely noticed the bookies had greatly misjudged his team's prospects of defeating the out-of-sorts champions, and placed large bets as a result.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said bearded Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his team's most recent victory, their eighth win in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for others on the outside looking in. It could alter opinions. It may confirm views that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the players have provided us. Technically, we look in a strong position, and certainly physically we look in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Of course, it's not a position that the team is accustomed to being in." No, Derek, it isn't. But the wonderful, data-driven reality is that for the first time in many years, Scottish football might actually have a title race that a team besides Celtic or Rangers can claim.