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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the sole surprising aspect of Hearts' victory over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how taken aback observers appeared when news of the outcome and its impact for the top of the table circulated. While this convincing victory at their home ground, which puts the Jambos leading of the league and eight points ahead of Celtic, was seismic in nature, no one who has been tracking the fortunes of either squad this campaign will have been in the least shocked by the result.

Over the past four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have carved up the Scottish football between them, turning fitba to something of a punchline in the process. Nine games into the current campaign it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who count 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 freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

While much 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 circumstances at their stadium has resulted in that Celtic's comparatively less severe decline has been able to fester unnoticed. The reigning champions have so far lost 10 points from their opening nine league games this season under their manager. The Celtic manager has acquired the distant look of a individual who constantly consulting his Google calendar to find out how many time are left until his contract ends, and awoke this morning to discover the number is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure here," he informed 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. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the dreadful beginning to the season being endured by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his men could typically be expected to get away with their own inability to roar out of the traps, but this year an Edinburgh disruptor has joined the mix. Despite being obliged to operate with a budget that is not just a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the investment and expertise of a renowned businessman to the SPL mix. In addition to putting in £10m during the summer, the Brighton owner has granted the club 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 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 mid-range family saloon. Spotted at Tynecastle on matchday sporting a club colours, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be observed cheering each score with the enthusiasm of a man who had almost certainly noticed the bookies had massively misjudged his side's chances of beating the struggling champions, and filled his boots accordingly.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a statement win," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer the head coach after his side's latest success, their eighth win in nine outings. "It might be for those on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It may confirm 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 strong position, and certainly physically we look in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Naturally, this is not a situation that this club is accustomed to being in." Correct, Derek, it isn't. But the wonderful, data-driven reality is that for the initial occasion in many years, Scottish football might actually have a championship battle that a team other than the traditional powers can claim.