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HEARTS ON FIRE

Perhaps the only unexpected aspect of Hearts' triumph over the Glasgow giants in the Scottish top flight was just how surprised people seemed when reports of the outcome and its impact for the top of the standings circulated. While this convincing victory at Tynecastle, which puts the Edinburgh side leading of the league and eight points clear of their rivals, was earth-shattering in scale, nobody who has been following the fortunes of either team this campaign will have been in the least shocked by the final score.

Over the past four decades, the Glasgow duopoly of the Old Firm have divided 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 apparent that Hearts – who count Stephen Hendry, Sir Chris Hoy and renowned actor among their famous supporters – might just be prepared to strike while the Old Firm iron is at its weakest.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

While much of the attention in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being suffered by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at Ibrox has meant that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been able to fester unnoticed. The reigning champions have already lost 10 points from nine league games this season under their manager. The Celtic manager has developed the thousand-yard stare of a man who can't stop checking his Google calendar to see how many days are left until his deal ends, and woke up this day to discover the number is 246.

"I've never worked harder in my entire tenure at the club," he told reporters following the defeat, after they had questioned his appetite for anything resembling a title fight. "So the motivation 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 dreadful start to the campaign being endured by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his players could typically be expected to get away with their own inability to start strongly, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has joined the fray. Despite being forced to function with a war-chest that is not just a tiny fraction of Celtic's as a minuscule amount in comparison, the Tynecastle outfit have introduced the money and expertise of a renowned businessman to the SPL equation. In addition to putting in £10m during the summer, the Premier League figurehead has granted Hearts sole use of his top secret analytics-based proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, a Greek talent and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to unearth hidden talents from an English lower-league side, the Slovak first division and the Norway's second division, among other lesser-known leagues, for the combined cost of a mid-range family saloon. Seen at Tynecastle on matchday wearing a club colours, the famously shrewd sports betting expert could be seen cheering each goal with the enthusiasm of a man who had almost certainly noticed the oddsmakers had massively misjudged his side's prospects of defeating the struggling title holders, and filled his boots accordingly.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"I don't think it's a message-sending victory," said the facial-haired team manager the head coach after his side's latest victory, their eighth win in nine outings. "It might be for those on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It might validate opinions that there's a fine line. But we must be realistic, we are delighted with what the players have provided us. In terms of skill, we look in a strong position, and definitely physically we look in a excellent shape, so we hope it persists. Of course, it's not a position that the team is accustomed to being in." No, Derek, it isn't. But the wonderful, data-driven reality is that for the first time in many years, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that a team other than Celtic or Rangers can claim.