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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the only surprising aspect of Heart of Midlothian's victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which taken aback people seemed when news of the outcome and its consequences for the summit of the standings circulated. While this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Edinburgh side leading of the table and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was earth-shattering in nature, nobody who has been following the fortunes of both team this campaign will have been in the least astonished by the final score.

Over the last four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish league between them, reducing fitba to something of a joke in the meantime. Nine games into the current campaign it has become apparent that Hearts – who number celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their famous supporters – could be ready to strike while the Glasgow duo iron is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

While much of the attention in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being suffered by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the circumstances 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 so far lost a considerable number from their opening nine league games this season under their manager. The team's boss has acquired the distant look of a individual who can't stop consulting his Google calendar to see how many time are remaining until his deal expires, and awoke this day to discover the answer is over two hundred.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure here," he told reporters following the defeat, after they had doubted his appetite for anything resembling a title fight. "Therefore the drive is there to try and reverse the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the horrific start to the campaign being endured by Rangers, Rodgers and his players could typically be expected to get away with their own inability to roar out of the traps, but this year 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 added the investment and expertise of Tony Bloom to the SPL mix. As well as putting in ten million pounds during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has provided Hearts exclusive use of his top secret data-driven Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to discover hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a modest car. Spotted at Tynecastle on matchday sporting a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be observed cheering each score with the enthusiasm of a person who had almost certainly noticed the oddsmakers had greatly misjudged his team's chances of defeating the out-of-sorts title holders, and placed large bets accordingly.

COACH'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a statement win," said bearded team manager Derek McInnes after his team's most recent victory, their eighth win in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for others on the outside looking in. It could alter opinions. It may confirm views that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the lads have given us. Technically, 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 the team is accustomed to being in." Correct, Derek, it isn't. But the wonderful, analytics-backed truth is that for the initial occasion in ages, the Scottish game might genuinely have a championship battle that somebody besides Celtic or Rangers can win.