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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the only unexpected element of Hearts' victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was just how surprised people appeared when news of the outcome and its impact for the top of the standings emerged. While this 3-1 win at their home ground, which leaves the Edinburgh side leading of the league and eight points clear of their rivals, was earth-shattering in nature, no one who has been tracking the fortunes of either team this campaign will have been in the least astonished by the final score.

For each of the past four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish football between them, reducing the beautiful game to something of a joke in the process. Several matches into the present season it has become clear that Hearts – who number Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – could be ready to strike while the Glasgow duo influence is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

While much of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being endured by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the situation at their stadium has meant that the title holders' slightly less terminal decline has been able to worsen unnoticed. The reigning champions have so far lost a considerable number from their opening nine league games this term under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a individual who can't stop consulting his Google calendar to see how many time are remaining until his deal expires, and awoke this day to learn the answer is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure here," he told the media following the defeat, after they had doubted his desire for anything resembling a championship battle. "So the motivation is present to attempt to flip the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the dreadful beginning to the season being endured by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his men could normally be anticipated to get away with their own failure to start strongly, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the mix. Despite being forced to function with a war-chest that is not just a small portion of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the investment and expertise of Tony Bloom to the SPL equation. In addition to investing £10m during the summer, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts sole use of his top secret data-driven proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to unearth unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a modest car. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday sporting a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be observed cheering each score with the enthusiasm of a man who had almost certainly noticed the bookies had massively underestimated his team's chances of defeating the out-of-sorts title holders, and placed large bets as a result.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a statement win," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his team's latest victory, their eighth in nine outings. "It might be for others on the outside looking in. It could alter opinions. It may confirm views that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we are delighted 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 the team is accustomed to being in." Correct, the manager, it is not. But the glorious, analytics-backed truth is that for the initial occasion in many years, the Scottish game might genuinely have a championship battle that somebody other than Celtic or Rangers can win.