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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the only surprising element of Heart of Midlothian's victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which taken aback observers appeared when reports of the result and its consequences for the summit of the table emerged. Although this 3-1 win at their home ground, which leaves the Edinburgh side leading of the table and a significant margin clear of their rivals, was seismic in scale, nobody who has been following the progress of both team this season will have been even remotely astonished by the final score.

For each of the last four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to something of a punchline in the meantime. Several matches into the current season it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who number Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – might just be ready to make their move while the Glasgow duo iron is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

Although a lot of the attention in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at Ibrox has resulted in that the title holders' slightly less terminal decline has been able to worsen below the radar. The reigning champions have already dropped 10 points from their opening nine league games this term under their manager. The Celtic manager has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a individual who can't stop checking his Google calendar to see how many days are remaining until his contract ends, and woke up this morning to learn the number is 246.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure here," he told reporters following the loss, after they had doubted his appetite for any kind of a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is there to attempt to reverse the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the dreadful beginning to the season being experienced by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his men could normally be expected to get away with their own inability to start strongly, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has joined the fray. Despite being forced to operate with a budget that is not just a tiny fraction of Celtic's 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 off-season, the Premier League figurehead has provided the club sole use of his top secret data-driven Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to discover unpolished gems from Walsall, 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 Tynecastle on Sunday sporting a club colours, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be seen cheering each goal with the gusto of a man who had almost certainly noticed the bookies had greatly underestimated his team's prospects of defeating the out-of-sorts champions, and placed large bets accordingly.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said bearded Hearts gaffer the head coach after his side's latest victory, their eighth win in nine outings. "It might be for others on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It might validate opinions that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the players have given us. In terms of skill, we appear in a strong position, and certainly in fitness we look in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Of course, this is not a situation that the team is accustomed to being in." No, Derek, it is not. But the glorious, data-driven truth is that for the first time in many years, Scottish football might actually have a championship battle that somebody besides Celtic or Rangers can win.