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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the only unexpected element of Hearts' triumph over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was just how taken aback people appeared when news of the result and its consequences for the top of the standings emerged. While this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which leaves the Jambos top of the league and eight points ahead of Celtic, was seismic in nature, nobody who has been tracking the fortunes of either squad this campaign will have been even remotely astonished by the final score.

For each of the last 40 seasons, 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 meantime. Nine games into the present season it has become clear that Hearts – who number celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – might just be prepared to strike while the Old Firm iron is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

Although a lot of the attention in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at Ibrox has meant that the title holders' comparatively less severe decline has been allowed to fester unnoticed. The defending title winners have so far dropped 10 points from nine league games this season under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has developed the thousand-yard stare of a man who constantly checking his Google calendar to see how many time are remaining until his contract ends, and awoke this day to learn the answer is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time at the club," he told reporters following the defeat, after they had questioned his desire for anything resembling a title fight. "Therefore the drive is there to attempt to reverse the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the dreadful beginning to the campaign being experienced by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his players could normally be anticipated to get away with their own inability to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has entered the fray. In spite of being forced to function with a war-chest that is not just a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the money and expertise of a renowned businessman to the SPL equation. In addition to investing £10m during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has granted the club exclusive use of his top secret data-driven proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to discover hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a modest car. Seen at their home venue on matchday sporting a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be observed celebrating each goal with the enthusiasm of a man who had almost certainly noticed the oddsmakers had massively underestimated his team's prospects of beating the struggling title holders, and placed large bets accordingly.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said bearded Hearts gaffer the head coach after his side's latest victory, their eighth win in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for others on the outside looking in. It might change perceptions. It might validate opinions that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the players have given us. In terms of skill, we appear in a strong position, and definitely in fitness we look in a good place, so we hope it persists. Naturally, this is not a situation that this club is used to being in." Correct, Derek, it is not. But the wonderful, data-driven reality is that for the initial occasion in ages, Scottish football might actually have a title race that a team besides Celtic or Rangers can claim.