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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the sole surprising aspect of Heart of Midlothian's victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was just how surprised observers seemed when reports of the result and its consequences for the summit of the table circulated. While this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which puts the Edinburgh side leading of the league and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was earth-shattering in scale, no one who has been tracking the fortunes of either team this campaign will have been even remotely astonished by the final score.

Over the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish football between them, turning fitba to something of a punchline in the process. Nine games into the present campaign it has become apparent that Hearts – who number Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – could be prepared to make their move while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

While a lot of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being endured by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at their stadium has meant that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been able to worsen unnoticed. The reigning champions have already lost a considerable number from their opening nine fixtures this season under their manager. The team's boss has acquired the distant look of a man who can't stop consulting his Google calendar to see how many time are remaining until his contract expires, and woke up this morning to learn the answer is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure here," he told the media following the loss, after they had doubted his appetite for anything resembling a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is there to attempt to flip the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the horrific beginning to the campaign being experienced by Rangers, Rodgers and his men could normally be anticipated to get away with 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 budget that isn't so much a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have added the investment and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership mix. As well as investing ten million pounds during the summer, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts exclusive use of his highly confidential analytics-based Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to unearth unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a modest car. Seen at their home venue on Sunday wearing a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be observed cheering each score with the gusto of a person who had almost certainly noticed the bookies had massively misjudged his side's prospects of defeating the struggling title holders, and placed large bets as a result.

COACH'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said bearded team manager Derek McInnes after his team's latest victory, their eighth win in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for others on the periphery. It might change opinions. It may confirm opinions that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the players have given us. Technically, we look in a good place, and definitely in fitness 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." No, the manager, it is not. But the wonderful, analytics-backed truth is that for the initial occasion in ages, the Scottish game might genuinely have a championship battle that somebody other than Celtic or Rangers can win.