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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the only unexpected aspect of Hearts' triumph over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which taken aback observers appeared when news of the outcome and its impact for the top of the standings circulated. While this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which leaves the Jambos leading of the table and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was earth-shattering in scale, no one who has been tracking the progress of both team 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 football between them, reducing the beautiful game to almost a punchline in the meantime. Several matches into the present campaign it has become clear that Hearts – who count celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – could be ready to strike while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

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 situation at their stadium has meant that the title holders' comparatively less severe decay has been able to worsen below the radar. The defending title winners have already lost 10 points from their opening nine fixtures this term under their manager. The team's boss has developed the thousand-yard stare of a individual who constantly consulting his Google calendar to find out how many days are remaining until his contract ends, and awoke this day to discover the number is 246.

"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 desire for any kind of a title fight. "Therefore the drive is present to try and flip the standards that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the dreadful beginning to the campaign being experienced by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his men could normally be expected to get away with their own inability to start strongly, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor 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, Hearts have introduced the money and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership equation. In addition to investing ten million pounds during the summer, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts sole use of his top secret data-driven proprietary scouting player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to discover unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at their home venue on matchday wearing a club colours, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be observed celebrating each score with the enthusiasm of a man who had likely noticed the oddsmakers had massively underestimated his team's prospects of beating the struggling title holders, and filled his boots accordingly.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired team manager Derek McInnes after his team's latest success, their eighth in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for others on the outside looking in. It could alter opinions. It might validate opinions 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 strong position, and certainly physically we look in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Naturally, this is not a situation that this club is used to being in." No, the manager, it isn't. But the glorious, analytics-backed truth is that for the initial occasion in many years, the Scottish game might actually have a championship battle that a team other than Celtic or Rangers can win.