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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the only unexpected aspect of Hearts' triumph over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was just how taken aback people appeared when news of the result and its impact for the top of the standings emerged. Although this convincing victory at their home ground, which puts the Edinburgh side top of the table and eight points ahead of their rivals, was seismic in nature, no one who has been tracking the fortunes of both squad this season will have been in the least shocked by the final score.

For each of the last 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish football between them, reducing fitba to almost a joke in the meantime. Nine games into the present season it has become apparent that Hearts – who number Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and renowned actor among their famous supporters – might just be prepared to make their move while the Glasgow duo iron is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

While a lot of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at Ibrox has resulted in that the title holders' comparatively less severe decline has been able to worsen below the radar. The defending title winners have so far lost 10 points from their opening nine league games this season under their manager. The Celtic manager has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a individual who can't stop consulting his schedule to find out how many days are left until his deal expires, and woke up this day to learn the number is 246.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure here," he told reporters following the defeat, after they had doubted his desire for any kind of a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is there to try and flip the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the horrific beginning to the season being endured by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his men could normally be expected to get away with their own failure to start strongly, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has joined the mix. Despite being obliged to operate with a war-chest that isn't so much a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have introduced the investment and expertise of a renowned businessman to the Scottish Premiership mix. As well as investing ten million pounds during the off-season, the Brighton owner has granted Hearts exclusive use of his top secret analytics-based Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to unearth 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 modest car. Spotted at their home venue on Sunday sporting a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be seen cheering each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had likely noticed the oddsmakers had massively misjudged his side's chances of defeating the out-of-sorts champions, and placed large bets accordingly.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said bearded team manager the head coach after his side's latest victory, their eighth in nine outings. "Perhaps it is for others on the outside looking in. It might change perceptions. It might validate views that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the lads have provided us. Technically, we appear in a good place, and certainly physically we look in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Naturally, it's not a position that this club is accustomed to being in." Correct, the manager, it isn't. But the wonderful, analytics-backed reality is that for the initial occasion in ages, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that a team besides Celtic or Rangers can claim.