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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the only surprising element of Heart of Midlothian's victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which surprised people appeared when news of the outcome and its impact for the top of the standings emerged. Although this 3-1 win at their home ground, which leaves the Jambos top of the league and eight points ahead of their rivals, was earth-shattering in scale, nobody who has been following the fortunes of both team this campaign will have been even remotely shocked by the result.

For each of the last 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish league between them, turning fitba to almost a joke in the process. Nine games into the current season it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who count celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – might just be ready to strike while the Glasgow duo influence is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

While a lot of the focus in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being endured by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at their stadium has meant that Celtic's comparatively less severe decline has been allowed to fester below the radar. The defending title winners have already dropped a considerable number from their opening nine league games this term under their manager. The team's boss has developed the thousand-yard stare of a man who constantly checking his Google calendar to find out how many days are left until his contract ends, and woke up this morning to learn the number is 246.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure at the club," he told the media following the loss, after they had questioned his desire for any kind of a championship battle. "So the motivation is there to attempt to flip the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the dreadful start to the campaign being experienced by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his men could normally 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 fray. In spite of being forced to function with a war-chest that is not just a small portion of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have added the money and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the SPL equation. As well as investing ten million pounds during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has provided Hearts sole use of his highly confidential analytics-based proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to discover hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a modest car. Seen at Tynecastle on Sunday sporting a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be observed celebrating each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had likely noticed the oddsmakers had greatly underestimated his team's chances of defeating the out-of-sorts champions, and filled his boots accordingly.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer the head coach after his side's latest success, their eighth in nine league matches. "It might be for those on the periphery. It could alter perceptions. It might validate opinions that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have given us. In terms of skill, we look in a good place, and definitely physically we seem in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Of course, this is not a situation that the team is used to being in." Correct, the manager, it is not. But the wonderful, data-driven reality is that for the initial occasion in ages, the Scottish game might genuinely have a championship battle that somebody other than the traditional powers can win.