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HEARTS ON FIRE

Maybe the sole unexpected aspect of Heart of Midlothian's triumph over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was just how surprised people appeared when reports of the outcome and its impact for the top of the table emerged. While this 3-1 win at their home ground, which puts the Edinburgh side top of the league and eight points ahead of their rivals, was seismic in scale, nobody who has been tracking the progress of either squad this season will have been in the least shocked by the result.

For each of the last 40 seasons, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of Celtic and Rangers have carved up the Scottish league between them, turning fitba to almost a punchline in the process. Nine games into the present season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count Stephen Hendry, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their celebrity fans – might just be ready to make their move while the Glasgow duo iron is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S SLUMP

Although much of the attention in Scotland has been on the absolute bin-fire being endured by the Ibrox club, the complete turmoil of the circumstances at their stadium has resulted in that Celtic's slightly less terminal decline has been allowed to fester below the radar. The reigning champions have already dropped a considerable number from their opening nine league games this term under their manager. The team's boss has developed the thousand-yard stare of a individual who constantly consulting his schedule to see how many time are remaining until his contract ends, and woke up this morning to learn the answer is 246.

"No one has put in more effort in all my time here," he informed the media following the defeat, after they had doubted his appetite for anything resembling a title fight. "So the motivation is present to try and flip the standards that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the dreadful start to the season being experienced by the other Glasgow side, Rodgers and his men could normally be anticipated to get away with their own inability to start strongly, but on this occasion an Edinburgh disruptor has entered the fray. In spite of being obliged to operate with a budget that is not just a small portion of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have added the money and expertise of Tony Bloom to the Scottish Premiership equation. As well as putting in £10m during the off-season, the Brighton owner has provided the club exclusive use of his highly confidential data-driven proprietary scouting recruitment tool.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and Cláudio Braga it has allowed them to discover unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovak first division and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the total price of a modest car. Spotted at their home venue on Sunday sporting a Hearts scarf, the famously shrewd professional gambler could be observed celebrating each goal 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 title holders, and placed large bets accordingly.

COACH'S RESPONSE

"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 outings. "Perhaps it is for those on the periphery. It could alter opinions. It may confirm views that there's a fine line. But let's not kid ourselves, we are delighted with what the lads have given us. Technically, we appear in a strong position, and certainly physically we seem in a good place, so we hope it persists. Of course, this is not a situation that the team is used to being in." Correct, the manager, it is not. But the glorious, analytics-backed reality is that for the first time in ages, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that a team other than Celtic or Rangers can claim.