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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the sole surprising element of Hearts' triumph over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which surprised observers seemed when news of the outcome and its consequences for the summit of the table circulated. While this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Jambos top of the table and eight points ahead of Celtic, was earth-shattering in scale, nobody who has been tracking the progress of both squad this season will have been in the least shocked by the result.

For each of the past four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish league between them, reducing the beautiful game to almost a punchline in the meantime. Several matches into the present campaign it has become clear that Hearts – who number Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – might just be ready to make their move while the Old Firm iron is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

Although much of the focus in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at their stadium has meant that the title holders' slightly less terminal decline has been allowed to worsen below the radar. The reigning champions have so far lost 10 points from their opening nine fixtures this term under their manager. The team's boss has developed 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 woke up this morning to learn the number is 246.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure here," he informed the media following the loss, after they had doubted his appetite for any kind of a championship battle. "So the motivation is present to try and reverse the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the horrific beginning to the season being experienced by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his players could typically be expected to escape scrutiny for their own failure to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has joined the fray. Despite being obliged to operate with a budget that is not just a small portion of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the investment and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the SPL equation. As well as investing ten million pounds during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has granted the club exclusive use of his top secret data-driven Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to discover hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a modest car. Spotted at Tynecastle on matchday sporting a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be observed cheering each goal with the gusto of a man who had likely noticed the oddsmakers had greatly underestimated his side's prospects of beating the out-of-sorts title holders, and placed large bets accordingly.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a statement win," said the facial-haired team manager Derek McInnes after his team's most recent victory, their eighth win in nine league matches. "It might be for others on the periphery. It could alter opinions. It might validate opinions that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the players have provided us. In terms of skill, we appear in a strong position, and certainly in fitness we seem in a good place, so we hope it persists. Of course, it's not a position that the team is used to being in." Correct, the manager, it isn't. But the glorious, data-driven truth is that for the first time in ages, Scottish football might genuinely have a championship battle that a team besides the traditional powers can claim.