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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the only unexpected element of Hearts' triumph over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was just how surprised observers seemed when news of the result and its consequences for the summit of the standings emerged. While this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which leaves the Edinburgh side top of the league and eight points ahead of their rivals, was seismic in nature, no one who has been tracking the fortunes of either team this campaign will have been in the least shocked by the final score.

For each of the past four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish football between them, turning fitba to almost a punchline in the meantime. Nine games into the present season it has become clear that Hearts – who number Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their famous supporters – could be ready to strike while the Old Firm influence is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

Although much of the attention in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at Ibrox has meant that the title holders' slightly less terminal decline has been allowed to fester unnoticed. The reigning champions have so far dropped a considerable number from their opening nine fixtures this season under their manager. The team's boss has developed the thousand-yard stare of a man who constantly consulting his Google calendar to find out how many time are remaining until his deal ends, and awoke this day to learn the answer is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in all my time here," he told the media following the defeat, after they had questioned his appetite for anything resembling a title fight. "Therefore the drive is there to try and flip the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the horrific beginning to the campaign being experienced by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his players could normally be expected to escape scrutiny for their own inability to start strongly, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the fray. Despite being forced to function with a budget that is not just a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have introduced the investment and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership mix. As well as putting in £10m during the summer, the Brighton owner has provided the club exclusive use of his highly confidential data-driven 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 exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a modest car. Seen at Tynecastle on Sunday sporting a club colours, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be seen celebrating each score with the enthusiasm of a man who had likely 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 the facial-haired Hearts gaffer the head coach after his team's most recent success, their eighth win in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for those on the outside looking in. It could alter opinions. It might validate opinions that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the players have given us. In terms of skill, we look in a strong position, and definitely in fitness we look in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Naturally, it's not a position that this club is used to being in." Correct, the manager, it is not. But the wonderful, data-driven reality is that for the first time in many years, the Scottish game might actually have a championship battle that somebody besides Celtic or Rangers can claim.