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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the only unexpected aspect of Heart of Midlothian's victory over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was just how surprised observers appeared when news of the outcome and its consequences for the summit of the standings circulated. While this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Edinburgh side top of the league and eight points ahead of their rivals, was earth-shattering in scale, no one who has been following the fortunes of either team this season will have been in the least astonished by the result.

Over the past four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish league between them, reducing the beautiful game to something of a punchline in the process. Nine games into the present campaign it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who number Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – might just be prepared to strike while the Old Firm iron is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S 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 situation at their stadium has resulted in that Celtic's comparatively less severe decline has been allowed to fester unnoticed. The reigning champions have already dropped a considerable number from their opening nine league games this season under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has acquired the distant look of a individual who constantly consulting his schedule to find out how many days are left until his contract ends, and awoke this day to discover the answer is 246.

"I've never worked harder in all my time here," he told reporters following the defeat, after they had questioned his appetite for any kind of a title fight. "Therefore the drive is present to try and reverse the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the horrific beginning to the campaign being endured by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his players could typically be anticipated to get away with their own failure to roar out of the traps, but this year an capital city challenger has entered the mix. In spite of being obliged to operate with a budget that isn't so much a small portion of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the investment and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership mix. As well as investing ten million pounds during the off-season, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts sole use of his top secret analytics-based Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

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 combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at Tynecastle on Sunday wearing a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be seen celebrating each goal with the gusto of a man who had likely realized the oddsmakers had massively underestimated his team's prospects of defeating the struggling champions, and placed large bets as a result.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said bearded team manager Derek McInnes after his side's most recent success, their eighth win in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for those on the periphery. It might change opinions. It might validate opinions 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 good place, and certainly in fitness we look in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Of course, this is not a situation that this club is used to being in." No, Derek, it is not. But the glorious, analytics-backed reality is that for the first time in ages, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that somebody other than the traditional powers can win.