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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the sole surprising element of Hearts' triumph over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which taken aback observers appeared when reports of the outcome and its impact for the summit of the standings circulated. While this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, 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 fortunes of either squad this campaign will have been even remotely shocked by the result.

Over the past 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish league between them, turning fitba to something of a joke in the process. Nine games into the present campaign it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who number celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – could be prepared to strike while the Old Firm influence 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 resulted in that the title holders' slightly less terminal decline has been allowed to worsen unnoticed. The reigning champions have so far lost a considerable number from nine fixtures this season under their manager. The team's boss has acquired the distant look of a individual who can't stop checking his schedule to find out how many days are remaining until his deal expires, and woke up this day to learn the answer is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time at the club," he informed reporters following the defeat, after they had questioned his appetite for anything resembling 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."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the horrific start to the campaign being endured by Rangers, Rodgers and his players could typically be expected to get away with their own failure to roar out of the traps, but this year an capital city challenger has entered the mix. In spite of being obliged to operate with a budget that is not just a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have added the investment and expertise of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership mix. In addition to putting in ten million pounds during the off-season, the Brighton owner has granted the club sole use of his top secret analytics-based proprietary scouting player identification system.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to unearth unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at Tynecastle on Sunday wearing a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be seen cheering each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had likely noticed the bookies had greatly underestimated his side's prospects of defeating the struggling title holders, and placed large bets accordingly.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said bearded Hearts gaffer the head coach after his side's most recent success, their eighth win in nine league matches. "It might be for others on the periphery. It could alter opinions. It might validate views that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the lads have provided us. In terms of skill, we look in a good place, and definitely physically we look in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Of course, it's not a position that the team is accustomed to being in." Correct, Derek, it isn't. But the wonderful, analytics-backed reality is that for the first time in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that a team besides Celtic or Rangers can win.