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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the only surprising element of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was just how surprised people seemed when news of the result and its impact for the top of the table circulated. While this convincing victory at their home ground, which puts the Jambos leading of the league and eight points ahead of their rivals, was seismic in scale, no one who has been tracking the progress of either squad this season will have been in the least shocked by the result.

For each of the past 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish football between them, reducing the beautiful game to almost a joke in the meantime. Several matches into the present season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their famous supporters – might just be ready to strike while the Old Firm iron is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

Although a lot of the attention in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being suffered by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at Ibrox has meant that the title holders' slightly less terminal decay has been able to fester unnoticed. The defending title winners have so far lost a considerable number from nine fixtures this season 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 time are remaining until his contract ends, and awoke this morning to discover the answer is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure at the club," he informed reporters following the defeat, after they had doubted his desire for any kind of a championship battle. "So the motivation is there to try and flip the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the horrific beginning to the season being experienced by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his players could typically be expected to get away with their own inability to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has entered the fray. Despite being obliged to function with a war-chest that is not just a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have added the money and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the SPL mix. As well as investing £10m during the summer, the Brighton owner has provided Hearts sole use of his highly confidential data-driven Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to unearth unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday wearing a club colours, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be observed celebrating each score with the gusto of a person who had likely realized the bookies had massively misjudged his team's chances of defeating the struggling title holders, and filled his boots as a result.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a statement win," said the facial-haired team manager the head coach after his side's latest success, their eighth win in nine league matches. "It might be for those on the outside looking in. It might change perceptions. It might validate views that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the lads have provided us. Technically, we look in a good place, and definitely physically we seem in a good place, so long may that continue. Of course, this is not a situation that the team is accustomed to being in." Correct, Derek, it is not. But the glorious, data-driven reality is that for the first time in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that somebody other than Celtic or Rangers can claim.