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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the sole surprising aspect of Hearts' triumph over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership was the extent to which surprised observers seemed when reports of the outcome and its consequences for the summit of the standings emerged. Although this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Edinburgh side leading of the table and eight points clear of their rivals, was seismic in scale, no one who has been following the fortunes of either squad this season will have been even remotely astonished by the result.

Over the last 40 seasons, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish football between them, turning fitba to almost a punchline in the process. Several matches into the present campaign it has become apparent that Hearts – who number celebrated snooker player, Sir Chris Hoy and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – might just be prepared to strike while the Old Firm iron is freezing cold.

THE CHAMPIONS' SLUMP

Although much of the attention in the Scottish game has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by Rangers, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at Ibrox has resulted in that the title holders' comparatively less severe decay has been allowed to fester below the radar. The defending title winners have so far dropped 10 points from their opening nine league games this season under their manager. The Celtic manager has developed the distant look of a individual who can't stop consulting his Google calendar to see how many time are remaining until his contract ends, and awoke this morning to learn the answer is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time here," he informed reporters following the defeat, after they had questioned his desire for any kind of a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is there to attempt to reverse the levels that we're at. Everything is under control, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the dreadful beginning to the season being endured by Rangers, the Celtic boss and his players could typically be anticipated to get away with their own failure to start strongly, but this year an capital city challenger has joined the mix. Despite being obliged to operate with a war-chest that is not just a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the money and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership mix. As well as investing ten million pounds during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has granted Hearts sole use of his highly confidential analytics-based proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to discover 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. Spotted at their home venue on Sunday sporting a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be observed cheering each score with the enthusiasm of a person who had likely realized the bookies had massively misjudged his team's chances of beating the out-of-sorts champions, and filled his boots as a result.

COACH'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired team manager Derek McInnes after his side's latest victory, their eighth in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for those on the outside looking in. It could alter opinions. It might validate opinions that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the lads have given us. In terms of skill, we look in a good place, and certainly physically we look in a good place, so we hope it persists. Of course, it's not a position that this club is used to being in." No, the manager, it isn't. But the wonderful, data-driven reality is that for the initial occasion in many years, the Scottish game might actually have a title race that somebody other than the traditional powers can claim.