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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the sole surprising aspect of Hearts' triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how taken aback observers seemed when reports of the outcome and its impact for the top of the standings emerged. While this 3-1 win at their home ground, which leaves the Jambos top of the table and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was earth-shattering in nature, no one who has been tracking the progress of both team this campaign will have been even remotely shocked by the final score.

For each of the past 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish league between them, reducing the beautiful game to almost a joke in the meantime. Several matches into the current season it has become apparent that Hearts – who number celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their famous supporters – might just be ready to make their move while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

Although a lot of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being suffered by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at their stadium has resulted in that the title holders' comparatively less severe decay has been able to fester below the radar. The reigning champions have so far lost 10 points from nine league games this season under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a man who can't stop checking his Google calendar to see how many time are remaining until his contract expires, and awoke this day to discover the answer is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time at the club," he informed the media following the defeat, after they had questioned his desire for anything resembling a championship battle. "So the motivation is present to try and flip the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the horrific beginning to the campaign being endured by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his players could typically be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own inability to roar out of the traps, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the fray. Despite being forced to function with a war-chest that is not just a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have added the investment and expertise of Tony Bloom to the SPL mix. As well as investing £10m during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has granted Hearts exclusive use of his top secret data-driven Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to discover hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at their home venue on Sunday sporting a club colours, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be observed cheering each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had almost certainly noticed the oddsmakers had greatly underestimated his side's prospects of defeating the out-of-sorts title holders, and filled his boots accordingly.

COACH'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said bearded team manager the head coach after his side's latest victory, their eighth in nine outings. "It might be for others on the periphery. It could alter opinions. It might validate opinions that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have given us. In terms of skill, we appear in a strong position, and definitely physically we seem in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Of course, it's not a position that this club is used to being in." No, the manager, it isn't. But the wonderful, data-driven truth is that for the initial occasion in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that somebody besides the traditional powers can claim.