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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the sole surprising aspect of Hearts' victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which surprised observers seemed when reports of the outcome and its impact for the summit of the standings circulated. Although this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which puts the Edinburgh side top of the league and a significant margin clear of Celtic, was earth-shattering in scale, nobody who has been following the fortunes of either squad this season will have been even remotely shocked by the final score.

Over the last four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish league between them, reducing the beautiful game to almost a joke in the meantime. Nine games into the present season it has become clear that Heart of Midlothian – who number Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their celebrity fans – might just be ready to strike while the Old Firm influence is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

Although a lot of the attention in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being suffered by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at Ibrox has resulted in that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been able to fester below the radar. The defending title winners have so far dropped a considerable number from their opening nine fixtures 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 see how many days are remaining until his deal expires, and awoke this day to discover the answer is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in my entire tenure here," he informed the media following the loss, after they had questioned his desire for anything resembling a title fight. "So the motivation is present to attempt to flip the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, it's still so early."

NEW CHALLENGER

Given the dreadful start to the campaign being experienced by Rangers, Rodgers and his men could typically be expected to get away with their own inability to start strongly, but this year an capital city challenger has entered the fray. Despite being obliged to function with a budget that is not just a small portion of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the money and expertise of Tony Bloom to the SPL mix. In addition to putting in £10m during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has provided the club sole use of his highly confidential data-driven proprietary scouting player identification system.

In Oisin McEntee, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to discover hidden talents from an English lower-league side, 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 Sunday wearing a club colours, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be observed celebrating each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had almost certainly realized the oddsmakers had greatly underestimated his side's prospects of beating the struggling title holders, and filled his boots accordingly.

MANAGER'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a statement win," said the facial-haired Hearts gaffer Derek McInnes after his side's latest victory, their eighth in nine outings. "It might be for others on the outside looking in. It could alter opinions. It may confirm opinions that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the players have provided us. Technically, we appear in a good place, and definitely physically we look in a good place, so long may that continue. Naturally, this is not a situation that this club is accustomed to being in." Correct, Derek, it isn't. But the wonderful, data-driven truth is that for the first time in many years, the Scottish game might genuinely have a championship battle that somebody other than Celtic or Rangers can claim.