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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the sole unexpected aspect of Hearts' triumph over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which taken aback people seemed when reports of the outcome and its consequences for the top of the table emerged. Although this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which puts the Jambos top of the table and eight points clear of Celtic, was earth-shattering in nature, no one who has been tracking the fortunes of either team this season will have been even remotely shocked by the final score.

For each of the last 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish football between them, reducing fitba to almost a joke in the process. Nine games into the present campaign it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – might just be prepared to make their move while the Old Firm influence is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

Although much of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being suffered by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at Ibrox has resulted in that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been allowed to fester below the radar. The defending title winners have already lost 10 points from their opening nine league games this season under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has acquired the distant look of a individual who constantly consulting his schedule to find out how many time are remaining until his deal expires, and awoke this day to learn the answer is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time at the club," he informed the media following the loss, after they had questioned his desire for anything resembling a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is there to attempt to reverse the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the horrific start to the season being endured by Rangers, Rodgers and his players could typically be expected to escape scrutiny for their own inability to roar out of the traps, but this year an capital city challenger has entered the mix. In spite of being forced to function with a budget that isn't so much a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have added the investment and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership mix. In addition to putting in £10m during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has granted Hearts sole use of his top secret data-driven Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to discover unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a modest car. Spotted at Tynecastle on matchday sporting a club colours, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be seen celebrating each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had likely realized the bookies had massively underestimated his side's prospects of defeating the out-of-sorts champions, and filled his boots as a result.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said bearded Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his team's most recent victory, their eighth in nine outings. "It might be for those on the outside looking in. It might change perceptions. It might validate views that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the players have given us. In terms of skill, we look in a good place, and definitely in fitness we look in a good place, so long may that continue. Of course, it's not a position that this club is used to being in." Correct, Derek, it isn't. But the glorious, analytics-backed truth is that for the initial occasion in ages, Scottish football might actually have a championship battle that a team besides the traditional powers can claim.