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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the only surprising aspect of Hearts' victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which surprised observers appeared when news of the outcome and its consequences for the summit of the standings circulated. Although this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which leaves the Jambos top of the table and eight points clear of their rivals, was earth-shattering in nature, no one who has been tracking the progress of either squad this campaign will have been in the least astonished by the final score.

Over the past 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish football between them, reducing the beautiful game to something of a joke in the meantime. Several matches into the current season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their famous supporters – might just be prepared to make their move while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

Although a lot of the focus 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 comparatively less severe decline has been allowed to worsen below the radar. The reigning champions have so far lost a considerable number from their opening nine league games this term under their manager. The Celtic manager has developed the distant look of a individual who can't stop consulting his schedule to find out how many time are remaining until his deal ends, and woke up this day to learn the answer is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure here," he told reporters following the loss, after they had questioned his appetite for any kind of a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is present to try and flip the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the horrific start to the campaign being endured by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his players could normally be expected to get away with their own failure to roar out of the traps, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the mix. Despite being obliged to operate with a budget that isn't so much a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have added the investment and expertise of Tony Bloom to the SPL mix. As well as investing £10m during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has granted Hearts sole use of his highly confidential data-driven Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to discover hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at Tynecastle on Sunday sporting a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be seen cheering each score with the enthusiasm of a person who had almost certainly realized the oddsmakers had massively misjudged his side's prospects of beating the struggling champions, and filled his boots accordingly.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a statement win," said bearded Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his side's latest success, their eighth in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for others on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It might validate views that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have provided us. Technically, we appear in a good place, and certainly in fitness we seem in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Of course, it's not a position that this club is used to being in." Correct, the manager, it is not. But the glorious, analytics-backed reality is that for the initial occasion in ages, Scottish football might genuinely have a championship battle that somebody other than Celtic or Rangers can claim.