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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the only unexpected element of Heart of Midlothian's victory over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was just how taken aback people appeared when reports of the result and its impact for the top of the table circulated. While this 3-1 win at their home ground, which leaves the Edinburgh side leading of the table and eight points ahead of Celtic, was seismic in nature, no one who has been following the progress of either squad this campaign will have been in the least astonished by the result.

For each of the past four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish football between them, reducing the beautiful game to something of a punchline in the meantime. Several matches into the present season it has become apparent that Hearts – who count celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – could be ready to make their move while the Glasgow duo influence is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

Although a lot 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 situation at Ibrox has meant that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been allowed to worsen 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 developed the distant look of a individual who can't stop checking his schedule to see how many days are left until his deal expires, and awoke this morning to discover the answer is 246.

"No one has put in more effort 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."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the horrific start to the season being endured by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his men could typically be anticipated to get away with their own failure to start strongly, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the fray. Despite being obliged to operate with a war-chest that isn't so much a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have added the money and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership equation. In addition to investing ten million pounds during the summer, the Brighton owner has granted the club sole use of his top secret data-driven proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to discover unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at their home venue on matchday sporting a club colours, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be seen cheering each goal with the gusto of a person who had almost certainly noticed the bookies had greatly misjudged his side's chances of beating the struggling champions, and filled his boots as a result.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said bearded team manager Derek McInnes after his side's most recent victory, their eighth in nine league matches. "It might be for those on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It might validate views that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the players have provided us. Technically, we appear in a strong position, and certainly physically we seem in a good place, so long may that continue. Of course, this is not a situation that this club is accustomed to being in." No, Derek, it isn't. But the glorious, analytics-backed reality is that for the initial occasion in many years, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that a team besides the traditional powers can win.