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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the only surprising aspect of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which taken aback observers seemed when news of the result and its consequences for the top of the table circulated. While this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which puts the Jambos leading of the table and eight points ahead of Celtic, was seismic in scale, nobody who has been tracking the progress of both team this campaign will have been even remotely shocked by the result.

For each of the last four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish football between them, reducing fitba to almost a punchline in the meantime. Nine games into the current campaign it has become apparent that Hearts – who number Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their famous supporters – could be ready to strike while the Glasgow duo iron is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

While a lot of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being endured by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the situation at their stadium has resulted in that the title holders' slightly less terminal decline has been able to worsen unnoticed. The reigning champions have so far lost a considerable number from their opening nine fixtures this term under their manager. The Celtic manager has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a individual who constantly checking his schedule to see how many time are left until his contract ends, and woke up this day to discover the number is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure at the club," he told reporters following the loss, after they had questioned his desire for any kind of a championship battle. "So the motivation is there to try and reverse the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Given the dreadful beginning to the campaign being experienced by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his players could normally be expected to get away with their own inability to start strongly, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has joined the mix. In spite of being forced to operate with a war-chest that is not just a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have added the money and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the SPL equation. As well as putting in £10m during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has granted Hearts exclusive use of his highly confidential analytics-based proprietary scouting player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to discover hidden talents 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. Seen at Tynecastle on Sunday sporting a club colours, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be seen celebrating each goal with the gusto of a man who had likely realized the bookies had greatly underestimated his team's chances of defeating the struggling champions, and placed large bets as a result.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired team manager Derek McInnes after his side's most recent victory, their eighth in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for those on the periphery. It might change opinions. It might validate opinions that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the players have given us. Technically, we look in a strong position, and definitely in fitness we seem in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. 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 ages, the Scottish game might actually have a championship battle that somebody besides Celtic or Rangers can claim.