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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the sole surprising element of Hearts' victory over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was just how taken aback people appeared when news of the outcome and its consequences for the top of the standings emerged. While this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which leaves the Edinburgh side leading of the table and a significant margin ahead of their rivals, was seismic in nature, no one who has been tracking the progress of either team this season will have been even remotely shocked by the final score.

Over the past four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish football between them, reducing fitba to almost a joke in the process. Several matches into the current season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who number Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their famous supporters – could be prepared to make their move while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

Although much of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being endured by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the situation at Ibrox has meant that Celtic's comparatively less severe decay has been able to fester below the radar. The reigning champions have so far lost a considerable number from their opening nine league games this season under their manager. The Celtic manager has acquired the distant look of a man who constantly checking his Google calendar to see how many time are left until his deal expires, and awoke this morning to learn the answer is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure at the club," he informed reporters following the defeat, after they had questioned his appetite for anything resembling a title fight. "Therefore the drive is present to attempt to flip the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the horrific beginning to the season being endured by Rangers, Rodgers and his players could normally be anticipated to get away with their own inability to roar out of the traps, but this year an capital city challenger has joined the fray. Despite being forced 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 added the money and expertise of Tony Bloom to the SPL equation. In addition to investing ten million pounds during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has granted the club sole use of his highly confidential analytics-based Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to discover unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, 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 their home venue on matchday sporting a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be seen celebrating each score with the gusto of a man who had likely noticed the bookies had massively underestimated his side's chances of beating the out-of-sorts champions, and placed large bets as a result.

MANAGER'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a statement win," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer the head coach after his side's latest success, their eighth win in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for those on the outside looking in. It might change perceptions. It may confirm opinions that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the lads have provided us. In terms of skill, we appear in a good place, and certainly in fitness we seem in a good place, so we hope it persists. Naturally, this is not a situation that the team is accustomed to being in." Correct, the manager, it is not. 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 the traditional powers can win.