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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the sole surprising element of Hearts' victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which taken aback people seemed when news of the result and its impact for the summit of the standings circulated. While this convincing victory 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 both squad this season will have been even remotely shocked by the final score.

For each of the past four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish league between them, reducing the beautiful game to almost a punchline in the process. Several matches into the present campaign it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who number celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their famous supporters – might just be prepared to strike while the Glasgow duo iron is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

While a lot of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the situation at Ibrox has meant that Celtic's comparatively less severe decay has been able to fester unnoticed. The reigning champions have already dropped 10 points from nine fixtures this season under their manager. The Celtic manager has developed the thousand-yard stare of a man who constantly checking his Google calendar to see how many days are left until his contract expires, and awoke this morning to discover the number is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure at the club," he informed reporters following the loss, after they had doubted his desire for anything resembling a championship battle. "So the motivation is present to attempt to reverse the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the dreadful start to the campaign being experienced by Rangers, Rodgers and his players could normally be anticipated to get away with their own failure to roar out of the traps, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the fray. Despite being obliged to operate with a war-chest that is not just a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have added the money and expertise of Tony Bloom to the SPL mix. As well as investing ten million pounds during the summer, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts sole use of his top secret analytics-based Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to unearth 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 mid-range family saloon. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday sporting a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be observed cheering each score with the gusto of a man who had likely realized the bookies had massively misjudged his side's prospects of defeating the struggling title holders, and filled his boots accordingly.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a statement win," said bearded team manager Derek McInnes after his side's latest victory, their eighth win in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for others on the outside looking in. It might change perceptions. It might validate opinions that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the players have given us. Technically, we appear in a strong position, and certainly physically we look in a good place, so long may that continue. Naturally, it's not a position that this club is used to being in." No, Derek, it isn't. But the glorious, analytics-backed reality is that for the initial occasion in many years, the Scottish game might genuinely have a title race that a team other than Celtic or Rangers can claim.