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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the only unexpected aspect of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which taken aback people seemed when reports of the result and its consequences for the top of the standings emerged. Although this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Jambos leading of the table and eight points clear of their rivals, was earth-shattering in scale, no one who has been following the progress of either team this campaign will have been in the least astonished by the result.

Over the last four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers have divided the Scottish football between them, reducing fitba to something of a punchline in the process. Several matches into the present season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who number Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – might just be prepared to strike while the Glasgow duo iron is at its weakest.

THE CHAMPIONS' DECLINE

Although a lot of the focus in the Scottish game has been on the disastrous season being suffered by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at their stadium has meant that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been able to fester below the radar. The reigning champions have so far lost 10 points from their opening nine league games this season under their manager. The team's boss has acquired the thousand-yard stare of a man who constantly checking his Google calendar to find out how many days are left until his deal expires, and awoke this morning to learn 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 doubted his appetite for anything resembling a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is there to attempt to flip the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the horrific start to the season being experienced by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his players could typically be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own inability to roar out of the traps, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has entered the fray. In spite of being forced to function with a budget that isn't so much a small portion of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, Hearts have added the money and knowledge of a renowned businessman to the SPL equation. As well as investing ten million pounds during the off-season, the Brighton owner has granted the club exclusive use of his top secret data-driven Jamestown Analytics recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has allowed them to unearth hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday wearing a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute sports betting expert could be seen celebrating each goal with the gusto of a man who had likely noticed the bookies had massively misjudged his team's chances of defeating the struggling title holders, and placed large bets accordingly.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said bearded team manager the head coach after his team's latest victory, their eighth in nine outings. "It might be for those on the periphery. It might change opinions. It may confirm opinions that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the lads have provided us. Technically, we appear in a strong position, and definitely physically we seem in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Naturally, it's not a position that this club is accustomed to being in." No, Derek, it is not. But the wonderful, analytics-backed truth is that for the initial occasion in ages, the Scottish game might actually have a championship battle that a team other than Celtic or Rangers can claim.