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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the only surprising aspect of Hearts' victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which taken aback people seemed when reports of the result and its impact for the top of the standings circulated. Although this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which puts 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 fortunes of both team this campaign will have been in the least shocked by the result.

For each of the past four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to almost a joke in the process. Several matches into the present campaign it has become apparent that Hearts – who count celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their famous supporters – could be ready to strike while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

Although a lot of the attention in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire 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 decay has been able to worsen unnoticed. The defending title winners have already lost 10 points from their opening nine fixtures this season under their manager. The team's boss has developed the distant look of a man who constantly checking his schedule to see how many days are remaining until his deal expires, and woke up this morning to discover the number is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time at the club," he told reporters following the defeat, after they had questioned his desire for anything resembling a title fight. "Therefore the drive is present to try and reverse the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the dreadful beginning to the campaign being experienced by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his men could typically be expected to get away with their own inability to start strongly, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has entered the fray. Despite being forced to operate with a war-chest that isn't so much a small portion of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have introduced the money and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership equation. As well as investing £10m during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has granted Hearts sole use of his top secret analytics-based proprietary scouting player identification system.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to unearth hidden talents 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 modest car. Spotted at Tynecastle on matchday sporting a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be seen celebrating each goal with the enthusiasm of a man who had almost certainly realized the oddsmakers had greatly misjudged his side's chances of defeating the struggling champions, and filled his boots as a result.

COACH'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said bearded Hearts gaffer the head coach after his side's most recent success, their eighth win in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for those on the outside looking in. It could alter perceptions. It might validate 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 strong position, and certainly physically we seem in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Of course, it's not a position that this club is accustomed to being in." Correct, Derek, it isn't. But the wonderful, analytics-backed reality is that for the initial occasion in many years, the Scottish game might actually have a championship battle that a team besides Celtic or Rangers can claim.