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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the sole surprising element of Hearts' victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which surprised observers appeared when news of the outcome and its consequences for the summit of the standings circulated. While this convincing victory at their home ground, which leaves the Edinburgh side leading of the table and eight points ahead of their rivals, was seismic in nature, no one who has been tracking the fortunes of both team this season will have been even remotely shocked by the result.

Over the last four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish league between them, turning the beautiful game to almost a joke in the process. Nine games into the current campaign it has become clear that Hearts – who number Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – might just be prepared to make their move while the Old Firm influence is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

While much of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by the Ibrox club, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at their stadium has resulted in that the title holders' slightly less terminal decay has been allowed to worsen below the radar. The defending title winners have already lost 10 points from nine fixtures this season under their manager. The Celtic manager has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a man who constantly consulting his Google calendar to see how many time are left until his contract ends, and woke up this day to discover the answer is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure here," he told reporters following the defeat, after they had questioned his appetite for any kind of a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is there to try and flip the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Considering the horrific start to the season being experienced by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his men 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 budget that isn't so much a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have added the money and expertise of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership mix. In addition to investing ten million pounds during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has granted Hearts exclusive use of his top secret analytics-based proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In Oisin McEntee, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has enabled them to discover hidden talents from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a modest car. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday wearing a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be observed celebrating each goal with the enthusiasm of a man who had almost certainly noticed the bookies had greatly underestimated his side's chances of defeating the out-of-sorts title holders, and placed large bets as a result.

COACH'S REACTION

"In my opinion it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired team manager Derek McInnes after his team's latest victory, their eighth win in nine league matches. "It might be for those on the outside looking in. It might change perceptions. It might validate views that there's a tightrope. But let's not kid ourselves, we're really pleased with what the lads have provided us. In terms of skill, we look 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 this club is accustomed to being in." Correct, the manager, it isn't. But the wonderful, analytics-backed truth is that for the first time in ages, the Scottish game might genuinely have a championship battle that a team besides the traditional powers can claim.