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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the sole surprising element of Hearts' triumph over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which taken aback observers appeared when news of the outcome and its consequences for the top of the standings emerged. Although this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which leaves the Edinburgh side leading of the league and a significant margin clear of their rivals, was seismic in nature, nobody who has been tracking the progress of both squad this campaign will have been even remotely shocked by the final score.

Over the last four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish football between them, reducing the beautiful game to something of a punchline in the meantime. Several matches into the current season it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who count celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their famous supporters – could be ready to make their move while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

Although much of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being endured by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at Ibrox has resulted in that Celtic's slightly less terminal decay has been able to worsen below the radar. The defending title winners have so far lost a considerable number from their opening nine fixtures this term under their manager. The Celtic manager has acquired the distant look of a man who constantly checking his Google calendar to find out how many days are left until his contract expires, and awoke this morning to discover the number is 246.

"I've never worked harder in all my time at the club," he told the media following the loss, after they had doubted his desire for any kind of a championship battle. "So the motivation is there to try and reverse the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the horrific start to the campaign being experienced by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his men could typically be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own failure to start strongly, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the mix. Despite being forced to function with a budget that isn't so much a small portion of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the investment and expertise of Tony Bloom to the SPL equation. In addition to putting in £10m during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has provided the club sole use of his top secret analytics-based proprietary scouting player identification system.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to unearth unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a modest car. Seen at Tynecastle on Sunday sporting a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be seen cheering each score with the gusto of a man who had almost certainly noticed the oddsmakers had massively misjudged his team's chances of beating the struggling title holders, and filled his boots accordingly.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired team manager Derek McInnes after his team's most recent success, their eighth in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for others on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It may confirm opinions that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the players have given us. In terms of skill, we look in a strong position, and definitely physically we seem in a good place, so long may that continue. Naturally, it's not a position that this club is used to being in." Correct, Derek, it isn't. But the glorious, data-driven truth is that for the first time in many years, Scottish football might genuinely have a championship battle that somebody besides Celtic or Rangers can win.