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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the only surprising element of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which taken aback people appeared when news of the result and its consequences for the top of the standings circulated. While this 3-1 win at Tynecastle, which puts the Edinburgh side leading of the league and eight points ahead of Celtic, was earth-shattering in nature, no one who has been following the fortunes of both team this campaign will have been even remotely shocked by the final score.

For each of the past 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish football between them, reducing the beautiful game to something of a punchline in the process. Nine games into the current season it has become apparent that Hearts – who count Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – might just be ready to strike while the Old Firm iron is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

Although a lot of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the situation at their stadium has meant that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been allowed to worsen unnoticed. The reigning champions have already lost 10 points from their opening nine fixtures this season under Brendan Rodgers. The team's boss has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a man who can't stop consulting his schedule to see how many days are left until his deal expires, and woke up this day to learn the answer is 246.

"I've never worked harder in all my time at the club," he told reporters following the defeat, after they had questioned his desire for anything resembling a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is there to try and flip the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the dreadful beginning to the campaign being endured by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his players could typically be expected to get away with their own failure to start strongly, but this year an capital city challenger has entered the fray. In spite of being forced to function with a budget that is not just a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the money and expertise of a renowned businessman to the SPL mix. As well as investing £10m during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has provided the club exclusive use of his highly confidential analytics-based Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to unearth unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a modest car. Seen at Tynecastle on Sunday sporting a club colours, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be observed celebrating each goal with the enthusiasm of a man who had almost certainly noticed the oddsmakers had massively underestimated his team's chances of beating the out-of-sorts champions, and placed large bets accordingly.

COACH'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said bearded team manager the head coach after his team's most recent success, their eighth win in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for those on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It may confirm opinions that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the lads have provided us. Technically, we appear in a strong position, and definitely in fitness we seem in a good place, so long may that continue. Of course, it's not a position that the team is accustomed to being in." Correct, Derek, it is not. But the wonderful, data-driven reality is that for the first time in many years, the Scottish game might genuinely have a title race that somebody besides the traditional powers can claim.