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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the only surprising element of Hearts' victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which surprised observers seemed when reports of the result and its impact for the top of the table emerged. While this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which leaves the Edinburgh side top of the league and a significant margin ahead of Celtic, was earth-shattering in nature, no one who has been tracking the fortunes of both squad this campaign will have been even remotely shocked by the result.

For each of the last four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish football 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 count celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – might just be ready to make their move while the Glasgow duo influence is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

While much of the attention in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being suffered by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at their stadium has resulted in that Celtic's slightly less terminal decay has been able to fester unnoticed. The defending title winners have already dropped a considerable number from nine league games this term under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has developed the thousand-yard stare of a individual who can't stop consulting his Google calendar to see how many time are remaining until his deal ends, and woke up this day to learn the number is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure at the club," he informed reporters following the loss, after they had questioned his desire for any kind of a championship battle. "So the motivation is present to try and reverse the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the dreadful beginning to the campaign being endured by Rangers, Rodgers and his men could typically be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own failure to roar out of the traps, but this year an capital city challenger has entered the mix. In spite of being forced to operate with a budget that is not just a small portion of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have introduced the money and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the SPL equation. In addition to putting in £10m during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has provided the club exclusive use of his top secret analytics-based Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to unearth unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at their home venue on Sunday sporting a club colours, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be observed celebrating each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had likely realized the bookies had massively misjudged his side's prospects of beating the out-of-sorts champions, and placed large bets as a result.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a statement win," said bearded team manager Derek McInnes after his side's most recent success, their eighth in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for those on the periphery. It could alter opinions. It may confirm opinions that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the players have given us. Technically, we look in a good place, and certainly physically we seem in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Naturally, it's not a position that the team 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, Scottish football might actually have a championship battle that a team other than Celtic or Rangers can win.