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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the only surprising aspect of Heart of Midlothian's victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was just how surprised observers appeared when reports of the result and its consequences for the summit of the standings circulated. While this convincing victory at their home ground, which puts the Edinburgh side top of the league and eight points clear of Celtic, was seismic in scale, nobody who has been tracking the fortunes of both squad this season 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 divided the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to almost a punchline in the meantime. Nine games into the present season it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who number Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – could be ready to strike while the Glasgow duo iron is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

Although much of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at Ibrox has meant that the title holders' comparatively less severe decay has been able to fester unnoticed. The defending title winners have so far lost 10 points from their opening nine fixtures this term under their manager. The Celtic manager has developed the distant look of a man who constantly consulting his Google calendar to find out how many time are left until his deal ends, and woke up this morning to learn the answer is 246.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure at the club," he informed the media following the loss, after they had doubted his appetite for anything resembling a championship battle. "So the motivation is present to attempt to reverse the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the horrific beginning to the campaign being endured by Rangers, Rodgers and his men could typically be anticipated to get away with their own failure to start strongly, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has entered the fray. Despite being forced to function with a war-chest that is not just a small portion of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have added the investment and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership mix. In addition to putting in £10m during the summer, the Brighton owner has provided Hearts sole use of his top secret data-driven Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to discover hidden talents from Walsall, 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 their home venue on matchday wearing a club colours, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be seen cheering each score with the gusto of a man who had likely realized the bookies had greatly misjudged his team's chances of defeating the struggling champions, and placed large bets accordingly.

COACH'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his team's most recent victory, their eighth in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for others on the periphery. It might change opinions. It might validate opinions that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the lads have provided us. In terms of skill, we look in a good place, and certainly in fitness we seem in a good place, so we hope it persists. Naturally, it's not a position that the team is used to being in." No, the manager, it isn't. But the glorious, data-driven truth is that for the initial occasion in ages, the Scottish game might genuinely have a championship battle that a team besides the traditional powers can claim.