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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the only unexpected aspect of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was just how taken aback observers appeared when reports of the result and its consequences for the top of the table emerged. Although this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which leaves the Jambos leading of the league and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was earth-shattering in scale, no one who has been tracking the fortunes of both team this campaign will have been in the least shocked by the result.

For each of the past four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to something of a punchline in the meantime. Nine games into the current campaign it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – could be ready to strike while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

While a lot of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at Ibrox has resulted in that Celtic's comparatively less severe decay has been able to worsen below the radar. The reigning champions have already dropped a considerable number from nine fixtures this season under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a man who can't stop checking his schedule to see how many time are remaining until his contract expires, and awoke this morning to learn the number is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time here," he told the media following the loss, after they had doubted his appetite for anything resembling a title fight. "Therefore the drive is there to attempt to reverse the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the dreadful start to the campaign being experienced by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his men could typically be expected to get away with their own failure to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the mix. In spite of being obliged to function with a budget that isn't so much a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have introduced the investment and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the SPL equation. In addition to putting in ten million pounds during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has provided the club sole use of his highly confidential analytics-based proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed 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. Spotted at Tynecastle on matchday wearing a club colours, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be observed celebrating each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had likely noticed the bookies had greatly underestimated his team's chances of beating the struggling champions, and filled his boots as a result.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a statement win," said bearded team manager the head coach after his team's latest success, their eighth in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for others on the outside looking in. It could alter perceptions. It may confirm opinions that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the players have given us. Technically, we look in a good place, and definitely physically we look in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Naturally, it's not a position that the team 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, Scottish football might genuinely have a championship battle that a team other than Celtic or Rangers can win.