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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the sole unexpected aspect of Hearts' victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was just how taken aback people appeared when news of the result and its consequences for the summit of the standings circulated. While this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which leaves the Edinburgh side top of the table and a significant margin clear of their rivals, was earth-shattering in scale, nobody who has been following the fortunes of either team this campaign will have been even remotely astonished by the final score.

For each of the past 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to something of a punchline in the meantime. Several matches into the present season it has become clear that Hearts – who number celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – might just be ready to strike while the Glasgow duo iron is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

While a lot of the focus in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being suffered by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the situation at Ibrox has meant that the title holders' comparatively less severe decay has been allowed to worsen unnoticed. The reigning champions have already dropped 10 points from their opening nine league games this term under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has acquired the distant look of a individual who constantly consulting his Google calendar to find out how many days are left until his deal expires, and awoke this day to discover the number is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure here," he informed the media following the loss, after they had doubted his desire for anything resembling a championship battle. "So the motivation is present to attempt to flip the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the horrific start to the season being endured by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his men could typically be anticipated to get away with their own failure to roar out of the traps, but this year an capital city challenger has joined the fray. Despite being forced to function with a budget that is not just a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the investment and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the SPL mix. As well as investing ten million pounds during the summer, the Brighton owner has provided Hearts exclusive use of his highly confidential data-driven proprietary scouting player identification system.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to unearth unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at Tynecastle on Sunday wearing a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be seen cheering each goal with the enthusiasm of a man who had likely realized the oddsmakers had greatly misjudged his team's prospects of defeating the out-of-sorts champions, and placed large bets accordingly.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired team manager the head coach after his team's latest victory, their eighth in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for those on the periphery. It might change opinions. It may confirm opinions that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the lads have given us. Technically, we appear in a good place, and definitely physically we seem in a good place, so we hope it persists. Naturally, it's not a position that the team is accustomed to being in." No, the manager, it is not. But the wonderful, data-driven truth is that for the first time in many years, Scottish football might genuinely have a championship battle that a team besides Celtic or Rangers can win.