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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the sole surprising element of Hearts' victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which surprised observers appeared when reports of the outcome and its impact for the summit of the standings emerged. While this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which leaves the Edinburgh side leading of the table and a significant margin ahead of their rivals, was earth-shattering in scale, no one who has been following the progress of either squad this campaign will have been in the least shocked by the result.

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 process. Several matches into the present season it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – could be ready to make their move while the Old Firm iron is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

Although much of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being suffered by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at Ibrox has meant that Celtic's slightly less terminal decay has been able to worsen below the radar. The reigning champions have already dropped a considerable number from nine league games 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 left until his contract ends, and woke up this day to discover the answer is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure at the club," he informed reporters following the defeat, after they had questioned his desire for anything resembling a title fight. "Therefore the drive is present to attempt to reverse the levels 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 Rangers, Rodgers and his men could normally be anticipated to get away with their own failure to start strongly, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the fray. In spite of being forced to operate with a war-chest that is not just a small portion of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have added the investment and expertise of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership mix. As well as putting in £10m during the summer, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts exclusive use of his top secret data-driven proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis 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. Seen at their home venue on matchday sporting a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be observed celebrating each score with the gusto of a man who had almost certainly noticed the bookies had massively misjudged his side's prospects of beating the out-of-sorts title holders, and filled his boots accordingly.

COACH'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a statement win," said the facial-haired team manager Derek McInnes after his team's latest victory, their eighth win in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for those on the outside looking in. It might change perceptions. It might validate opinions that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the lads have provided us. In terms of skill, we look in a good place, and definitely physically we look in a good place, so we hope it persists. Of course, this is not a situation that the team is accustomed to being in." Correct, Derek, it isn't. But the glorious, data-driven reality is that for the first time in ages, Scottish football might genuinely have a championship battle that somebody other than Celtic or Rangers can claim.