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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the only unexpected element of Hearts' triumph over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which taken aback observers appeared when news of the result and its consequences for the top of the table emerged. While this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which puts the Jambos top of the league and a significant margin ahead of their rivals, was earth-shattering in nature, nobody who has been following the progress of either team this campaign will have been in the least astonished by the final score.

For each of the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to something of a punchline in the meantime. Several matches into the present campaign it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who count celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – might just be prepared to make their move while the Old Firm iron is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

Although much of the focus in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at their stadium has resulted in that Celtic's comparatively less severe decline has been allowed to worsen unnoticed. The defending title winners have so far dropped 10 points from their opening nine league games this season under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a man who constantly consulting his schedule to find out how many time are remaining until his contract ends, and awoke this morning to learn the answer is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in all my time at the club," he informed the media following the defeat, after they had questioned his desire for any kind of a title fight. "Therefore the drive is there to try and flip the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the horrific start to the season being experienced by Rangers, Rodgers and his players could typically be anticipated to get away with their own failure to start strongly, but this year an capital city challenger has entered the mix. Despite being forced to function with a war-chest that isn't so much a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the money and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the SPL mix. In addition to investing £10m during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has provided Hearts sole use of his highly confidential analytics-based Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to unearth hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at Tynecastle on matchday wearing a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be seen celebrating each goal with the enthusiasm of a man who had almost certainly noticed the bookies had greatly underestimated his side's prospects of beating the out-of-sorts champions, 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 latest victory, their eighth win in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for those on the outside looking in. It might change perceptions. It may confirm views that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have provided us. Technically, we appear in a strong position, and definitely physically we look in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Of course, this is not a situation that the team is used to being in." No, the manager, it is not. But the glorious, data-driven reality is that for the first time in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a championship battle that a team besides Celtic or Rangers can claim.