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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the sole unexpected element of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which taken aback observers appeared when news of the outcome and its impact for the top of the table emerged. While this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which puts the Edinburgh side top of the league and eight points ahead of their rivals, was earth-shattering in scale, no one who has been tracking the fortunes of both squad this campaign will have been even remotely astonished by the final score.

For each of the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish football between them, reducing fitba to something of a punchline in the meantime. Several matches into the current campaign it has become clear that Hearts – who number celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – could be prepared to strike while the Glasgow duo influence is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

Although much of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire 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 allowed to fester unnoticed. The reigning champions have already dropped a considerable number from their opening nine league games this season under their manager. The team's boss has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a man who constantly consulting his schedule to see how many time are left until his deal expires, and woke up this day to learn the number is 246.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure at the club," he informed reporters following the loss, after they had doubted his desire 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, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the horrific start to the campaign being endured by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his men could typically be expected to escape scrutiny for their own failure to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the mix. In spite of being obliged to operate with a war-chest that isn't so much 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 equation. In addition to investing ten million pounds during the off-season, the Brighton owner has provided the club sole use of his highly confidential analytics-based proprietary scouting player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to unearth hidden talents 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 Tynecastle on matchday wearing a club colours, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be seen celebrating each score with the gusto of a man who had almost certainly noticed the bookies had massively underestimated his team's prospects of beating the struggling title holders, and placed large bets accordingly.

COACH'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said bearded team manager Derek McInnes after his team's latest victory, their eighth in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for those on the periphery. It might change opinions. It might validate opinions that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the players have provided us. Technically, we appear in a strong position, and definitely in fitness we look in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Of course, this is not a situation that this club is accustomed to being in." Correct, Derek, it isn't. But the glorious, analytics-backed truth is that for the initial occasion in many years, the Scottish game might genuinely have a title race that a team other than the traditional powers can claim.