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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the sole unexpected element of Hearts' victory over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which surprised observers seemed when news of the outcome and its impact for the top of the standings circulated. While this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which leaves the Jambos leading of the league and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was earth-shattering in nature, no one who has been following the progress of both squad this season will have been in the least shocked by the final score.

For each of the last four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish football between them, reducing fitba to almost a joke in the process. Nine games into the current campaign it has become clear that Hearts – who count celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – might just be prepared to make their move while the Old Firm influence is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

Although much of the focus in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being endured by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at their stadium has resulted in that Celtic's comparatively less severe decay has been allowed to worsen unnoticed. The reigning champions have so far dropped a considerable number from nine fixtures this term under their manager. The Celtic manager has developed the distant look of a man who constantly checking his Google calendar to find out how many days are left until his contract expires, and woke up this morning to discover the answer is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in all my time at the club," he told the media following the loss, after they had doubted his appetite for anything resembling a championship battle. "So the motivation is there to attempt to reverse the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the dreadful beginning to the season being endured by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his players could typically be expected to get away with their own failure to start strongly, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the mix. Despite being obliged to operate with a war-chest that is not just a small portion of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have added the money and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the SPL equation. In addition to investing £10m during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has granted Hearts sole use of his highly confidential data-driven proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to discover hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at their home venue on Sunday wearing a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be seen cheering each score with the enthusiasm of a person who had almost certainly realized the oddsmakers had greatly misjudged his team's prospects of beating the out-of-sorts title holders, and filled his boots accordingly.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer the head coach after his team's latest victory, their eighth win in nine league matches. "It might be for others on the outside looking in. It could alter perceptions. It may confirm views that there's a fine line. 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 seem in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Naturally, this is not a situation that this club is used to being in." No, the manager, it is not. But the wonderful, data-driven truth is that for the first time in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that somebody besides Celtic or Rangers can claim.