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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the sole unexpected element of Heart of Midlothian's victory over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which surprised people seemed when reports of the outcome and its impact for the top of the standings circulated. Although this convincing victory at their home ground, which puts the Edinburgh side top of the league and eight points ahead 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 astonished by the final score.

Over the past 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish football between them, turning fitba to almost a joke in the meantime. Several matches into the present campaign it has become clear that Hearts – who number Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – could be ready to strike while the Glasgow duo influence is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

While a lot of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at their stadium has resulted in that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been allowed to worsen below the radar. The reigning champions have so far lost a considerable number from their opening nine league games this term under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has developed the thousand-yard stare of a individual who can't stop consulting his Google calendar to see how many days are remaining until his deal ends, and awoke this morning to learn the number is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time at the club," he told reporters following the defeat, after they had doubted his appetite for anything resembling a championship battle. "So the motivation is present to try and reverse the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the horrific start to the season being experienced by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his players could typically be anticipated to get away with their own inability to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the mix. In spite of being obliged to function with a war-chest that isn't so much a small portion of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the investment and expertise of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership equation. In addition to putting in ten million pounds during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has provided Hearts exclusive use of his highly confidential analytics-based Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to discover hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday wearing a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be seen cheering each score with the enthusiasm of a man who had likely noticed the oddsmakers had massively misjudged his side's chances of defeating the struggling title holders, and filled his boots as a result.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a statement win," said the facial-haired team manager the head coach after his team's most recent success, their eighth in nine outings. "It might be for those on the periphery. It could alter 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 provided us. In terms of skill, we look in a strong position, and definitely in fitness we seem in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Naturally, it's not a position that the team is accustomed to being in." Correct, Derek, it isn't. But the wonderful, data-driven truth is that for the initial occasion in ages, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that a team other than Celtic or Rangers can claim.