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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the sole unexpected element of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which taken aback people appeared when news of the result and its consequences for the summit of the table emerged. While this convincing victory at their home ground, which leaves the Jambos top of the league and a significant margin ahead of Celtic, was earth-shattering in nature, nobody who has been following the fortunes of both squad 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 football between them, reducing fitba to something of a punchline in the process. Nine games into the present campaign it has become clear that Hearts – who number Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their famous supporters – could be prepared to make their move while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

Although a lot of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being suffered by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at Ibrox has meant that Celtic's slightly less terminal decay has been allowed to worsen below the radar. The reigning champions have so far lost 10 points from nine league games this term under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a individual who constantly consulting his schedule to see how many days are left until his contract ends, and woke up this morning to learn the number is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure at the club," he told the media following the defeat, after they had doubted his desire for anything resembling a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is present to attempt to reverse the standards 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 players could normally 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 is not just a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have added the money and expertise of Tony Bloom to the SPL mix. As well as putting in ten million pounds during the summer, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts exclusive use of his highly confidential analytics-based Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to unearth unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a modest car. Spotted at their home venue on Sunday wearing a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be observed celebrating each score with the enthusiasm of a man who had almost certainly noticed the bookies had greatly underestimated his team's prospects of beating the struggling champions, and placed large bets as a result.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired team manager the head coach after his side's latest victory, their eighth in nine league matches. "It might be for others on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It might validate opinions that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the lads have given us. Technically, we appear in a strong position, and definitely physically we look in a excellent shape, 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 wonderful, analytics-backed reality is that for the initial occasion in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a championship battle that somebody besides the traditional powers can win.