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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the sole unexpected aspect of Hearts' victory over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which taken aback people seemed when reports of the outcome and its consequences for the top of the standings emerged. While this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which puts the Edinburgh side top of the league and eight points clear of Celtic, was seismic in nature, no one who has been following the progress of either squad this campaign will have been even remotely shocked by the result.

Over the past four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish league between them, reducing fitba to something of a joke in the process. Several matches into the present season it has become clear that Hearts – who count celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – could be ready to make their move while the Old Firm iron is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

Although much of the focus in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being suffered by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at Ibrox has meant that Celtic's comparatively less severe decay has been able to fester unnoticed. The defending title winners have so far lost a considerable number from their opening nine fixtures this season under their manager. The Celtic manager has acquired the distant look of a man who can't stop consulting his Google calendar to see how many time are left until his contract expires, and woke up this morning to discover the number is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure here," he informed the media following the defeat, after they had questioned his desire for any kind of a title fight. "Therefore the drive is there to try and flip the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the dreadful beginning to the campaign being experienced by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his men could typically be expected to get away with their own failure to start strongly, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the fray. In spite of being obliged to operate with a budget that is not just a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the money and expertise of Tony Bloom to the SPL mix. In addition to investing ten million pounds during the summer, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts exclusive use of his top secret data-driven proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to unearth unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at Tynecastle on Sunday sporting a club colours, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be observed cheering each score with the enthusiasm of a person who had likely realized the oddsmakers had greatly misjudged his team's chances of defeating the out-of-sorts champions, and filled his boots as a result.

COACH'S REACTION

"In my opinion 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 outings. "It might be for those on the periphery. It could alter opinions. It may confirm views that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the lads have given us. Technically, we look in a strong position, and certainly physically we look in a good place, so we hope it persists. Naturally, it's not a position that this club is accustomed to being in." Correct, Derek, it isn't. But the glorious, analytics-backed reality is that for the first time in many years, the Scottish game might genuinely have a championship battle that somebody other than Celtic or Rangers can claim.