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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the only unexpected element of Heart of Midlothian's victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which taken aback observers seemed when news of the outcome and its impact for the top of the table circulated. Although this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which puts the Edinburgh side leading of the table and a significant margin ahead of their rivals, was earth-shattering in scale, nobody who has been tracking the progress of both squad this campaign will have been even remotely shocked by the final score.

Over the past 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish football between them, turning fitba to almost a joke in the meantime. Several matches into the current season it has become clear that Hearts – who count celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their famous supporters – might just be ready to strike while the Glasgow duo influence is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

Although a lot of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being endured by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at their stadium has resulted in that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been allowed to fester below the radar. The defending title winners have so far lost 10 points from their opening nine fixtures this term under their manager. The Celtic manager has developed the distant look of a individual who constantly checking his schedule to see how many time are left until his contract expires, and awoke this day to learn the number is over two hundred.

"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 appetite for any kind of a championship battle. "So the motivation is present to attempt to flip the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the dreadful beginning to the season being endured by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his players could normally be expected to escape scrutiny for their own failure to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has joined the fray. Despite being forced to function with a budget that is not just a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the investment and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the SPL mix. In addition to putting in £10m during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has provided the club exclusive use of his highly confidential analytics-based proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to unearth 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 modest car. Spotted at Tynecastle on Sunday sporting a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be seen cheering each goal with the gusto of a man who had likely realized the bookies had greatly misjudged his team's chances of beating the struggling title holders, and filled his boots accordingly.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said bearded Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his team's latest victory, their eighth win in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for those on the outside looking in. It could alter perceptions. It might validate opinions 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 strong position, and definitely physically we seem in a good place, so we hope it persists. Naturally, it's not a position that the team is used to being in." Correct, Derek, it isn't. But the glorious, analytics-backed truth is that for the first time in ages, Scottish football might genuinely have a championship battle that a team besides the traditional powers can win.