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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the only unexpected element of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which taken aback people seemed when reports of the outcome and its consequences for the summit of the standings emerged. Although this convincing victory at their home ground, which puts the Edinburgh side leading of the league and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was seismic in nature, nobody who has been tracking the fortunes of either squad this season will have been even remotely shocked by the final score.

Over the past four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish league between them, reducing the beautiful game to almost a joke in the process. Several matches into the present campaign it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their famous supporters – might just be prepared to strike while the Old Firm 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 the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at Ibrox has resulted in that the title holders' slightly less terminal decline has been allowed 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 team's boss has developed the thousand-yard stare of a man who constantly consulting his schedule to find out how many days are remaining until his deal ends, and awoke this morning to learn the answer is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure at the club," he told the media following the loss, after they had doubted his appetite for any kind of a title fight. "So the motivation is there to attempt to reverse the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the dreadful start to the season being experienced 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 joined the mix. Despite being forced to operate with a war-chest that isn't so much a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have added the money and expertise of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership equation. As well as investing ten million pounds during the off-season, the Brighton owner has provided the club sole use of his highly confidential data-driven proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to discover 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 combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at Tynecastle on Sunday sporting a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be observed cheering each score with the gusto of a man who had almost certainly noticed the oddsmakers had massively misjudged his side's chances of beating the out-of-sorts champions, and placed large bets accordingly.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said bearded team manager the head coach after his team's most recent victory, their eighth win in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for others on the outside looking in. It might change perceptions. It might validate opinions that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the players have provided us. Technically, we appear in a good place, and definitely in fitness we seem in a good place, so long may that continue. Of course, it's not a position that this club is used to being in." Correct, the manager, it isn't. But the wonderful, analytics-backed truth is that for the initial occasion in many years, the Scottish game might actually have a championship battle that somebody besides the traditional powers can claim.