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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the sole unexpected element of Hearts' triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was just how taken aback observers appeared when reports of the result and its consequences for the top of the standings circulated. While this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which puts the Jambos leading of the table and eight points ahead of Celtic, was seismic in nature, nobody who has been tracking the progress of both team this campaign will have been even remotely shocked by the final score.

Over the last 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish football between them, reducing the beautiful game to almost a punchline in the process. Nine games into the present season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who number celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – might just be prepared to strike while the Old Firm influence is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

While a lot of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at their stadium has meant that Celtic's comparatively less severe decay has been allowed to fester below the radar. The defending title winners have already dropped a considerable number from nine league games this season under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has acquired the distant look of a man who can't stop consulting his schedule to see how many days are left until his contract expires, and awoke this day to discover the number is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure here," he informed reporters following the defeat, after they had questioned his appetite for anything resembling a title fight. "So the motivation is there to try and reverse the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the horrific beginning to the season being endured by Rangers, the Celtic boss 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 capital city challenger has entered the mix. Despite being forced to operate with a budget that is not just a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the investment and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the SPL mix. As well as putting in £10m during the summer, the Brighton owner has provided Hearts sole use of his top secret data-driven proprietary scouting player identification system.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to discover unpolished gems from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the total price of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at their home venue on Sunday wearing a club colours, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be seen celebrating each score with the gusto of a person who had likely realized the bookies had greatly misjudged his team's chances of defeating the struggling champions, and filled his boots accordingly.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said bearded Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his side's latest success, their eighth win in nine league matches. "It might be for others on the periphery. It could alter opinions. It may confirm views that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the players have given us. Technically, we appear in a strong position, and definitely physically we look in a good place, so long may that continue. Of course, this is not a situation that the team is accustomed to being in." No, the manager, it is not. But the glorious, analytics-backed truth is that for the initial occasion in ages, Scottish football might genuinely have a championship battle that somebody besides the traditional powers can win.