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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the sole surprising element of Hearts' triumph over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was just how surprised observers seemed when news of the outcome and its consequences for the summit of the table emerged. Although this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Jambos leading of the league and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was earth-shattering in nature, no one who has been following the fortunes of either team this season will have been in the least astonished by the final score.

For each of the last four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish football between them, turning fitba to almost a joke in the process. Nine games into the current campaign it has become apparent that Hearts – who count celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – could be ready to strike while the Old Firm iron is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

While much of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being suffered by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at their stadium has resulted in that the title holders' slightly less terminal decline has been allowed to worsen below the radar. The reigning champions have so far dropped 10 points from nine league games this term under their manager. The team's boss has acquired the distant look of a individual who can't stop checking his Google calendar to see how many time are remaining until his deal ends, and woke up this morning to discover the number is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure here," he told the media following the defeat, after they had doubted his appetite for any kind of a championship battle. "So the motivation is there to try and flip the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the horrific start to the season being endured by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his men could typically be expected to escape scrutiny for their own failure to start strongly, but this year an capital city challenger has entered the mix. In spite of being forced to operate with a war-chest that is not just a small portion of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have added the investment and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership equation. As well as putting in ten million pounds during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has granted the club exclusive use of his top secret analytics-based Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to discover hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at Tynecastle on Sunday wearing a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be seen celebrating each score with the gusto of a man who had almost certainly realized the oddsmakers had greatly misjudged his team's chances of beating the struggling title holders, and filled his boots as a result.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said the facial-haired team manager Derek McInnes after his team's latest success, their eighth win in nine league matches. "It might be for those on the outside looking in. It could alter perceptions. It may confirm views that there's a fine line. 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 we hope it persists. 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 truth is that for the first time in ages, Scottish football might actually have a championship battle that somebody other than the traditional powers can win.