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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the sole surprising aspect of Hearts' victory over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which surprised people appeared when news of the result and its consequences for the top of the table emerged. Although this convincing victory at their home ground, which puts the Edinburgh side top of the table and eight points ahead of Celtic, was seismic in scale, no one who has been tracking the progress of either squad this campaign will have been in the least shocked by the result.

For each of the last 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish league between them, reducing the beautiful game to something of a joke in the meantime. Nine games into the present season it has become apparent that Hearts – who number Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – could be ready to strike while the Glasgow duo iron is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

While much of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the situation at their stadium has meant that the title holders' slightly less terminal decay has been able to worsen below the radar. The defending title winners have so far lost a considerable number from nine fixtures this term under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has developed the distant look of a individual who can't stop checking his Google calendar to see how many days are remaining until his deal ends, and awoke this day to discover the answer is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure here," he informed the media following the defeat, after they had doubted his appetite for any kind of a title fight. "Therefore the drive is present to attempt to reverse the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the horrific start to the season being endured by the other Glasgow side, the Celtic boss and his players could typically be expected to get away with their own inability to start strongly, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has entered 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 comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the money and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the SPL equation. In addition to investing ten million pounds during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has granted Hearts exclusive use of his highly confidential data-driven Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

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 Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Spotted at Tynecastle on matchday wearing a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be seen cheering each score with the gusto of a person who had almost certainly realized the oddsmakers had greatly underestimated his team'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 bearded team manager Derek McInnes after his team's most recent victory, their eighth win in nine outings. "It might be for others on the periphery. It could alter opinions. It might validate views that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have provided us. Technically, we look in a good place, and certainly physically we seem in a good place, so long may that continue. Naturally, it's not a position that the team is accustomed to being in." No, the manager, it is not. But the glorious, data-driven reality is that for the first time in many years, the Scottish game might genuinely have a championship battle that a team other than the traditional powers can claim.