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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the sole unexpected aspect of Hearts' victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was just how taken aback people seemed when reports of the outcome and its impact for the top of the table emerged. While this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Jambos leading of the table and a significant margin ahead of Celtic, was seismic in nature, nobody who has been following the progress of either team this season will have been even remotely astonished by the final score.

For each of the last four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish league between them, turning the beautiful game to almost a joke in the process. Nine games into the current campaign it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who count celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – might just be prepared to strike while the Glasgow duo influence is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

While much of the focus in Scotland 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 the title holders' slightly less terminal decay has been able to worsen below the radar. The defending title winners have so far dropped a considerable number from nine league games this term under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has developed the distant look of a individual who constantly consulting his schedule to find out how many time are left until his deal expires, and woke up this morning to learn the answer is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time here," he told reporters following the defeat, after they had doubted his desire for any kind of a title fight. "Therefore the drive is present to try and reverse the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the dreadful start to the season being endured by Rangers, Rodgers and his men could typically be anticipated to get away with their own failure to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the fray. Despite being obliged to operate with a war-chest that isn't so much a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have introduced the money and expertise of Tony Bloom to the SPL equation. In addition to investing £10m during the off-season, the Brighton owner has provided Hearts sole use of his top secret analytics-based proprietary scouting player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to unearth hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at their home venue on Sunday wearing a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be seen cheering each goal with the gusto of a person who had almost certainly realized the oddsmakers had massively misjudged his side's prospects of beating the struggling title holders, and placed large bets as a result.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said bearded team manager Derek McInnes after his team's most recent victory, their eighth win in nine outings. "It might be for those on the periphery. It could alter perceptions. It may confirm opinions that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the lads have provided us. In terms of skill, we appear in a strong position, and definitely physically we look in a good place, so we hope it persists. Naturally, it's not a position that the team is accustomed to being in." No, Derek, it isn't. But the wonderful, data-driven reality is that for the first time in many years, Scottish football might genuinely have a championship battle that a team other than the traditional powers can win.