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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the sole surprising element of Hearts' victory over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was just how taken aback people seemed when news of the result and its consequences for the top of the standings emerged. While this 3-1 win at their home ground, which leaves the Edinburgh side leading of the table and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was seismic in nature, no one who has been tracking the fortunes of either squad this season will have been in the least astonished by the final score.

Over the past four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish league between them, reducing the beautiful game to something of a joke in the meantime. Nine games into the current campaign it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who number celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – could be ready to strike while the Old Firm influence is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

While much of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at Ibrox has meant that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been able to worsen below the radar. The defending title winners have already dropped a considerable number from nine league games this term under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has developed the thousand-yard stare of a individual who can't stop checking his schedule to find out how many days are remaining until his deal ends, and awoke this morning to discover the number is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure at the club," he told reporters following the loss, after they had doubted his appetite for any kind of a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is present to attempt to reverse the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the horrific beginning to the season being experienced by Rangers, Rodgers and his men could typically be expected to escape scrutiny for their own inability to start strongly, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the fray. In spite of being forced to operate with a budget that isn't so much a small portion of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have introduced the money and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership mix. As well as investing ten million pounds during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has provided Hearts sole use of his top secret data-driven proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to discover hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a modest car. Seen at Tynecastle on Sunday sporting a club colours, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be observed cheering each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had likely noticed the bookies had greatly misjudged his side's prospects of defeating the out-of-sorts champions, and placed large bets accordingly.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer the head coach after his team's latest success, their eighth win in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for others on the periphery. It could alter opinions. It may confirm opinions that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the lads have given us. In terms of skill, we appear in a strong position, and definitely in fitness we seem in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Of course, it's not a position that the team is used to being in." Correct, the manager, it is not. But the glorious, analytics-backed truth is that for the initial occasion in ages, Scottish football might actually have a championship battle that somebody besides the traditional powers can win.