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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the sole surprising element of Hearts' victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was just how taken aback observers seemed when reports of the result and its impact for the top of the table circulated. Although this 3-1 win at their home ground, which leaves the Edinburgh side top of the league and eight points ahead of Celtic, was earth-shattering in scale, no one who has been following the fortunes of either squad this season will have been even remotely astonished by the final score.

For each of the past 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish football between them, reducing fitba to almost a joke in the process. Nine games into the present season it has become apparent that Hearts – who number Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – might just be prepared to strike while the Old Firm iron is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

Although much of the focus in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at their stadium has resulted in that the title holders' slightly less terminal decay has been allowed to fester unnoticed. The defending title winners have already lost 10 points from their opening nine league games this term under their manager. The Celtic manager has developed the thousand-yard stare of a individual who constantly consulting his schedule to see how many days are remaining until his contract expires, and awoke this morning to learn the number is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time at the club," he informed the media following the defeat, after they had doubted his desire for any kind of a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is there to try and reverse the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the horrific start to the season being endured by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his men could typically be anticipated to get away with their own failure to start strongly, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the fray. In spite of being forced to function with a war-chest that is not just a small portion of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the investment and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the SPL mix. As well as putting in ten million pounds during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has provided Hearts sole use of his highly confidential data-driven Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to unearth unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovak first division 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 Sunday sporting a club colours, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be observed celebrating each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had almost certainly realized the bookies had greatly underestimated his team's prospects of defeating the out-of-sorts title holders, and placed large bets as a result.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired team manager Derek McInnes after his team's latest victory, their eighth in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for others on the outside looking in. It could alter opinions. It might validate views that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the players have given us. In terms of skill, we appear in a strong position, and certainly in fitness we seem in a good place, so long may that continue. Of course, this is not a situation that this club is used to being in." No, the manager, it isn't. But the wonderful, data-driven truth is that for the initial occasion in ages, Scottish football might genuinely have a championship battle that somebody other than Celtic or Rangers can claim.