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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the only unexpected element of Hearts' victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which surprised people seemed when reports of the outcome and its impact for the top of the table circulated. While this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Edinburgh side top of the table and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was earth-shattering in nature, nobody who has been following the fortunes of both team this campaign will have been in the least astonished by the final score.

For each of the last 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish league between them, reducing the beautiful game to almost a punchline in the process. Nine games into the current season it has become clear that Hearts – who count Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – could be ready to make their move while the Glasgow duo iron is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

Although a lot of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being endured by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at Ibrox has resulted in that the title holders' slightly less terminal decline has been able to fester unnoticed. The reigning champions have so far dropped a considerable number from their opening nine fixtures this season under their manager. The Celtic manager has acquired the distant look of a individual who constantly consulting his Google calendar to find out how many time are left until his deal expires, and awoke this day to learn the number is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure here," he told reporters following the loss, after they had doubted his desire for anything resembling a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is present to attempt to flip the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the dreadful start to the campaign being endured by Rangers, Rodgers and his men could typically be expected to get away with their own failure to roar out of the traps, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the fray. Despite being obliged to operate with a war-chest that is not just a small portion of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have added the money and expertise of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership equation. As well as investing ten million pounds during the summer, the Brighton owner has provided the club exclusive use of his highly confidential analytics-based Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to unearth hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at their home venue on Sunday sporting a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be observed celebrating each score with the enthusiasm of a man who had likely realized the oddsmakers had greatly misjudged his side's prospects of defeating the out-of-sorts champions, and filled his boots as a result.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a statement win," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his side's most recent success, their eighth in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for others on the periphery. It could alter perceptions. It might validate views that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the lads have provided us. Technically, we appear in a good place, and certainly in fitness we look in a good place, so we hope it persists. Of course, this is not a situation that this club is used to being in." Correct, Derek, it is not. But the wonderful, analytics-backed reality is that for the first time in ages, Scottish football might actually have a championship battle that a team besides the traditional powers can win.