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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the only unexpected aspect of Hearts' victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was just how taken aback people appeared when reports of the outcome and its consequences for the summit of the table emerged. Although this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Jambos leading of the table and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was seismic in scale, no one who has been following the progress of both squad this campaign will have been even remotely astonished by the result.

Over the last 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish league between them, turning fitba to something of a punchline in the meantime. Several matches into the present campaign 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 at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

Although much of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at Ibrox has resulted in that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been able to fester unnoticed. The reigning champions have so far lost a considerable number from nine fixtures this term under their manager. The Celtic manager has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a man who can't stop consulting his schedule to find out how many days are left until his contract ends, and woke up this day to learn the number is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure here," he told reporters following the defeat, after they had doubted his desire for anything resembling a title fight. "Therefore the drive is there to attempt to flip the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the horrific start to the campaign being endured by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his men could typically be expected to get away with their own failure to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the fray. In spite of being forced to function 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 expertise of Tony Bloom to the SPL equation. In addition to investing ten million pounds during the summer, the Brighton owner has provided Hearts sole use of his top secret analytics-based proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to discover unpolished gems 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 modest car. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday sporting a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be seen cheering each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had almost certainly noticed the bookies had greatly misjudged his side's prospects of beating the struggling title holders, and placed large bets as a result.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired 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 outside looking in. It could alter perceptions. 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 look in a good place, and definitely in fitness we look in a good place, so long may that continue. Of course, it's not a position that the team is accustomed to being in." Correct, Derek, it is not. But the wonderful, analytics-backed reality is that for the first time in many years, the Scottish game might actually have a championship battle that a team other than the traditional powers can claim.